hong kong

When I first began writing this post, on my recent trip to Hong Kong, I was going to write a separate post for each day there, but then I realized that there are way too many pictures and most of them are shit. So, I’m just going to select a few photos that I think were interesting and noteworthy. I’m still experimenting on how to edit my shots, so please bare with me..

This is my 4 days and 3 nights in Hong Kong..

Hong Kong is largely known for its food, culture, shopping, and its skyline..

I wish I had a wider lens and the skills to capture the beauty of Hong Kong’s cityscape. But, this was the best I could do, for now.

The city really came alive at night with all its amazing buildings and lights.

But, apart from its famous skyline and business buildings, the typical building seen throughout Hong Kong is old, overcrowded, and grungy.

I took this shot on the bus ride to our hotel. These are the typical apartments seen throughout Hong Kong, where the majority of the population lives in. If I had to describe Hong Kong in one word, it would be CLUTTERED. There are swarms of people everywhere you go, it’s crazy. I think these apartments are a perfect example of how so many people are crammed into such small places. People in Korea live in apartments as well, but the buildings in Korea aren’t nearly as narrow and packed together. I couldn’t even imagine living like that, but it really was quite interesting to see. haha

I actually found these buildings to be more fascinating than the skyline.. It’s impossible to see anything like this back in the states, especially in Orange County. Everything back in the US was kept clean and tidy. A building was just a building, nothing more. Here, you can tell that every building has its own unique story to tell..

This is an upscale apartment, as I’m sure you can tell compared to the other pictures, but still very narrow and packed.. One of the first things I noticed about the apartments in Hong Kong is that almost every household has their laundry hanging out the window. I guess the living space is so small that outside is the only available space.

Like I mentioned earlier, Hong Kong also widely known for its shopping areas.

I didn’t come to Hong Kong to shop…but my sisters did..

So, while the ladies shopped, I chose to wander away from the main street into the smaller, back alley ways with my camera in hand.

In an earlier post I wrote that everything in Korea was stacked upwards. You’ll have bars and restaurants on 2nd or 3rd floors with shops underneath. Here, all the shops and restaurants are on the first 1 to 3 levels and above that are residential areas. I found that interesting.

the streets of Hong Kong are filled with so much energy, culture, excitement..

and attitude. I LOVE IT.

If you haven’t noticed, the driver’s seat is on the right side in Hong Kong. Which also means that cars going the opposite direction are on the right side of the road, not the left (opposite from the US)

Before I arrived here, I told myself that I was going to eat as much as I possibly could on this trip. Trying out new types of food on the streets, fuck it, how often am I in Hong Kong? Time to binge eat..

Unfortunately, that didn’t go the way I had planned. The entire time I’ve been in Korea all I can think about is American food..In&out, chipotle, sushi, lucilles, CHIPOTLE, carne asada nachos.. But after a few days in Hong Kong all I could think about was Korean food. At first I got sick of Korean food because almost everything is so healthy. Even the pizza and pasta here barely has any grease or oil in it. Nothing compared to the fatty foods back in the states..But, Chinese food is notorious for its oily foods.. Almost every dish is soaked and cooked in oils. By the second day I felt a bit nauseated after every meal. I’m usually not one to be such a bitch when it comes to food, but I met my match…Chinese food..

On the 3rd day we decided to head out to Macau by ferry. Macau is a small island by Hong Kong that is known for its casinos. We headed to the Venetian, yes, the Venetian. Same owner as the one in Vegas.

I’m just going to post these 2 pictures up from the 3rd day since the Venetian is something that can be seen back in the states. I’ve personally never been to the Venetian in Vegas, but I hear it has a pretty similar layout. The 1st floor is the casino and the 3rd floor is the shopping area. The shopping had a little waterway circling the entire 3rd floor with gondolas going around.

On the cab back to the airport.

This was my first trip outside the US and Korea and it was pretty amazing to see how different the lifestyles and culture was in Hong Kong. Aside from the bustling streets, shopping, markets, and buildings Hong was full of culture and history as well. There were too many pictures to post them all on one post, but I’ll have them up on my facebook for those of you who would like to see them.

Hong Kong is definitely a place I would go back to multiple times. A good thing about living in Korea is that all my top places I want to visit are so close by. THe flight to Hong Kong only took 3.5 hours.

Next up Taiwan or the Philippines??

December 30, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

the zoo

A friend and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to a zoo near our campus. I, once again, didn’t have my camera on me so I decided to shoot with my camera phone, the galaxy s2.

I’ll be honest, I’ve actually really started to take a liking to shooting around with my galaxy s2. The image quality is pretty great for being a phone and it’s quite convenient on days like this. Downside, of course, is its speed. Slow speed is a major handicap for shooting animals that are constantly moving. This handicap made me miss out on a lot of potentially great shots.I plan on returning to this zoo with my t1i sometime very soon.

The zoo only took about half an hour by subway. These were the stairs leading to the zoo entrance from the subway exit. I’m actually not even sure what the name of the zoo was, so I’ll keep referring to it as “the zoo”.

Not sure what this is or signifies, but it was at the entrance. This zoo was more like a park/zoo. It’s free to get in and it has a whole lot of walkways and grassy areas, as well as animals. I would have taken more pictures of the park itself, but my camera was almost out of battery and I wanted to save those shots for when I return.

I mentioned a story, in the previous post, about the time I went to a zoo a long time ago and a monkey grabbed my sister’s finger while she was feeding it. Well, this zoo was designed a bit safer but it didn’t stop people from feeding them. Some old couple was throwing pieces of tangerines to these monkeys. This last shot is a picture of the monkey catching the piece in midair.

I noticed that some of the deer had their antlers cut off. I feel like cutting off a deer’s antlers is like getting it neutered. Their antlers are what define them as male deer and determine the size of their masculinity. I wonder if deer can feel pride, shame, or embarrassment..

oxen

an ox urinating on another ox’s face. Not particularly proud of this photo, but it was still interesting to see. even more interesting, though, was the fact that it didn’t seem to phase the one getting peed on.

lone elephant watching family. I wonder if that elephant had a family before it got dragged into its prison cell. they say that elephants never forget..

Not sure what you’re looking at? Neither did I.

look familiar? I know it does to me.

Kim Possible did a horrible job depicting the true nature of a naked mole rat.

Although a bit disgusting at first, the naked mole rat farm was actually pretty interesting. Something you won’t see at the San Diego zoo.

For not having an admissions cost I thought it would be similar to the Santa Ana Zoo, but it was actually a lot better than expected. I was pretty surprised by the level of animals they had here. A few of the animals weren’t available for viewing since it’s getting so cold over here, but still. But, the most interesting part of this zoo is its surrounding environment. It really just seems like a giant park you can go jogging in with building, rides, and animals around it. I’m looking forward to capturing those shots the next time I’m here.

November 28, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

min sok chon

I’m currently taking a course on Korean language and culture to improve my reading/ writing and broaden my understanding of the Korean culture. This past week we took a field trip to Min Sok Chon. Min Sok Chon is an old traditional village area that shows how Koreans used to live hundreds of years ago. They also have little exhibits on other cultures and traditions.

The weather forecast predicted it to rain all day. Afraid of water damage, I decided to leave my camera at home that day.

It rained earlier that morning, but the overcast skies didn’t shed anymore rain for the rest of the day.

Too bitter, about having left my camera, it was hard for me to enjoy myself at first. Luckily, my friends and I had decided to bring water bottles full of soju on our field trip. Not quite the same as getting wasted at Disneyland or Knotts, but old faithful did its duty.

It was then that I remembered what I had read in someone else’s blog, “The best camera is the one you have on you.”-unknown. With that in mind, I decided to make the most of the situation and shoot with my Galaxy s2 camera phone that day.

This is a photo of the traditional hair decor for Japanese brides back in the day. Japanese, not Korean. I just wanted to point that out to avoid some misunderstandings.

Again, traditional Japanese wedding shoes.

This is one of my classmates pushing the giant grinder. She’s chinese, just like 90% of the people in the Language and Culture program. It’s funny, in a way, that I moved to Korea and the majority of my friends are Chinese and Japanese. Not many Koreans come to Korea to learn Korean. haha

It’s been almost 15 years since the last time I came to Min Sok Chon with my family. I don’t remember there being an amusement park section, not sure if it’s new, but we spent the majority of our time here. haha

The rides were far from great. They were old and slow, but anything is that much more fun when you’re drunk.

I’ve mentioned this before in a previous post, but I love the mood created on an overcast afternoon like this. The dark and gloomy atmosphere makes for perfect shooting conditions. Made me regret leaving my camera even more.

What’s funny about Korea compared to the U.S. is its safety regulations. Pretty much, there aren’t any. The “seat belts” provided on this roller coaster was a felt band that you sling over you shoulder and across your chest, like a seat belt in a car without the buckle. This ride made me remember the time when I went to a zoo in Korea, I was probably 10 at the time. They’re were a bunch of monkeys in a fenced cage and people are allowed to walk up to the cage and feed the monkeys whatever it was you had in your hand at the time. We fed it squid. lol But, one of the monkeys grabbed my sisters finger and wouldn’t let go. Hilarious to me, but rather traumatizing for her, I guess. Thinking back to it now, that monkey could literally have ripped her finger off her hand if it had wanted to.. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s happened before at a Korean zoo.

Even though the rides were only as good as rides you would expect at an old traditional Korean village, I was still able to enjoy myself. Korea has such a busy and fast faced society, it felt good being able to take a day and just be a kid again. Being able to enjoy the little things.

Although I didn’t have my camera on me on this trip I was able to go home somewhat satisfied. I do have a greater appreciation for my camera phone. I never really shot with my camera phone during other situations where I was caught off guard and cameraless, but I was pretty surprised with the image quality for a phone camera. Maybe I’ll end up using it more often.

November 20, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

sorak mountain day 2

Back in California, I forgot autumn was even a season. I just divided up the seasons into fall, spring, and summer based off school. Fall is when school starts, winter gets chilly enough to wear a sweater out, and then summer just means no school. Weather is pretty much perfect year round in California. In Korea, it’s difficult for autumn to go unnoticed. The leaves turn into shades of vibrant reds and yellows making the trees look as if they’re on fire. it’s actually quite a sight to behold in large quantities, like the mountain areas. Unfortunately, we only had time to go while there was still a lot of green left, but it was still worth the trip. I don’t usually like to edit my photos in bright colors, but I wanted to show how animated the colors were. Also, this trip is my first time shooting with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L lens so I wanted to show off its quality. haha

I’m not really sure what the significance of the stacking of the rocks were, but throughout the entire hike there mounds and mounds of rocks being stacked on top of each other, gradually getting smaller and smaller towards the top. A hiker would pick up a stone and place it on top of a rock and leave for others to stack more.

I thought this was pretty cool. Its a faucet that can produce an unlimited amount of water without any pipes or water source. This may be the answer to all our draught problems throughout the world. Way to go Korea.

Here’s a picture of me and my older sister at the top. This will probably be one of the few pictures I will ever post of myself. The skies were too misty and gloomy for me to take a photograph worthwhile of posting on a blog. Or maybe I’m just that much of an amateur. Landscape photography is one of the hardest genres of photography for me.

Like all great things, the beauty of autumn if very short lived. Already, the leaves are beginning to fall, leaving the branches bare and lifeless.. It’s getting colder and colder each day. Winter is slowly approaching.. It’s going to start snowing soon. I’ve never taken photos in snowy weather before, should be a whole new challenge.

November 10, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

sorak mountain day 1

I recently went on a trip to Sorak Mountain for a two day, one night stay. The first day we decided to go to a fish market by the beach. This beach was about an hour out of the way from where we were staying, but you don’t get to visit the beach very often in Korea. Something I miss about California.

It wasn’t your typical california beach experience. The sky was overcast by dark and heavy clouds, my favorite type of weather for taking photos.
The fish market is a long walkway full of shops, restaurants, and food carts all the way down. In Korea, you can’t be afraid to use a little elbow to get through the crowd, especially somewhere as packed as this fish market.

stuffed squid



you get to choose whatever fish you want and they will cut it up for you into fresh sashimi on the spot

We chose these guys, amongst others. The fish was delicious and super fresh, of course. What was surprisingly good was the squid. Not the stuffed squid, but the raw one, which is not pictured. I thought it would be super chewy and slimy, but it was actually pretty easy to swallow.

The trip to the fish market was definitely a good experience. You don’t get to eat fish straight from the ocean on a normal basis. That’s pretty much all we did the first day. A four hour drive to the hotel, an hour drive to the market, and another hour drive can be exhausting.. and I wasn’t even driving.

November 10, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

cats

I’m not a big cat person. I’ve never raised one before and I probably never will. But, I decided to make a post on cats because I’ve had so many run-ins with stray cats throughout my short stay in Korea thus far.

This kitten hardly even moved as I approached it and took a few shots of it. It just stared at me the entire time. More than fear, it seemed to have hope in its eyes. Hope that, maybe, I would be able to provide it with food or nurture…it’s a big world for a lonely kitten.

I found this cat in a back alley eating some sort of fish. I don’t know where it got the fish, probably left overs from some trash can. I liked this cat. It seemed like a survivor. It was tense as I came closer, but not enough to leave its meal behind. This cat reminded me of how cats are typically portrayed in cartoons as alley cats.

I don’t can’t tell the age of cats, but these were kittens. I’m guessing no more than 4 months old. I don’t know if someone abandoned them or if they were born in the streets, but there was no mother cat around. Six kittens altogether, two orange, two black, one gray, and one brown; six altogether. I don’t know if they were all from the same litter, but they stuck together as if they were. I took this shot as some kind lady feeding them. Apparently she comes by everyday to feed them. She actually brought them each individual canned cat foods and dry food to leave behind. We chatted for a bit; we both knew these kittens aren’t going to survive the winter..

I like this cat a lot. He actually snuck up on me when I was bent down taking some photos of graffiti in an alley way. I didn’t see it laying there a few feet next to me until it came up and started rubbing its head against my knee. Caught me off guard and I almost dropped my camera.

I’m not really familiar with how to approach cats. With my lack of experience with them I’ve always had the notion that cats liked to be left alone and will scratch you if you pet them the wrong way. Cautiously, I stuck out my hand in fist form, knuckles out. It started nuzzling its head and its back against it and laid on its back demanding a belly rub. This is where I got this shot. I didn’t know cats behaved like dogs do. I was both surprised and amused. Against my better judgement I decided to name this cat, Oreo. I know the name is cliche, but, come on, if you see something black and white don’t you think of an oreo or a cow? I try to distance myself from strays so I don’t get attached, knowing that I can’t take them home and that they wont survive the winter..but I guess I grew fond of Oreo. With a closer look I noticed scars across its face. Oreo’s lived a hard life yet, still yearns for companionship. I’ve returned back to this spot and fed it some canned tuna and milk and I still see Oreo walking around the back alleys near my campus. I have a feeling he will be able to survive this snowy winter, somehow…I hope…

November 10, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Street Food

Something you don’t get back in California are all the street food. The foods they sell on the streets, over here, taste better than most Korean Restaurants back in the states. And, it’s way cheaper.

Food carts aren’t available everywhere. Mostly in busy areas near markets, schools, are drinking areas. This picture was taken in front of Eeh-Deh, I’m not sure how to spell it in English, but that is how it would be pronounced. It’s in front of Eeh-Deh University, which is also a big market area that sells a bunch of clothes, shoes, and other stuff for real cheap. I got a Supreme backpack for $10 over there. I may post some of the pictures I took there later on, we’ll see. You can see some of them on my facebook.

Some of the most common food cart foods are fried foods. Each cart sells pretty much sells the same stuff for the same price. If the cart sells fried foods then you will most likely be able to choose from deep fried shrimp, jalepenos, potatoes, and other stuff..Most carts lets you choose 5 items for around $3.

Another common dish is ddeuckbokki. It’s like rice cakes mixed with vegetables and hot sauce. I rarely ever crave this dish normally, but when it’s becoming a ritual meal every time I drink. They usually sell this right in front of bar areas and its a good drunken munchies filler. This would be equivalent to my carne asada nachos back in California. A lot of people can’t eat a lot of this because they say it’s too spicy, but it doesn’t even tickle my spicy senses.

chicken skewers

Certain foods indicate certain seasons in Korea. The weather is beginning to get really cold over here. Snow will be upon us in a month or two. Cold weather means hot food carts will be out and about on a daily basis. This cart sells fish cakes or oh-deng, don’t know how to spell it in english. But, it is definitely one of my favorites during winter time because you can drink and unlimited amount of the hot broth. Best way to warm yourself up during the freezing cold.

November 6, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Korea

This is my first blog, so I’m not quite sure how to begin or what to even write about. I’m not usually one to write these type of blogs, but I feel that it will be a good way to vent out some of my frustrations and anger. We’ll see. I’ve only been shooting with my Canon t1i for a few months now, but it has definitely helped keep me sane during these crazy times. I guess this could be considered a visual journal of my life in Korea. I hope you enjoy some of my pictures and logs, if not, that’s ok too.

One thing I love about Korea is its nightlife. There is something about all the lights, noise, and chaos that gives me a sense of serenity. Maybe I feel that it balances out the chaos in my life or, maybe, it’s just another way to distract myself from the real troubles of life. Whatever it is, I like it…

To the unfamiliar, Korea can seem very cluttered and hectic, but once you get used to it, it’s actually really convenient. Unlike the US, Korea is a small country so everything is stacked upwards to compensate for the lack of available land. People live in apartments rather than houses; grocery stores have multiple floors; bars, restaurants, shops, and business are all piled on top of each other. Pretty much you can get everything you need done at one general area and then have a few drinks after too. This picture was taken on a Tuesday just as the sun was beginning to set, but you can already see the streets filling up. Around 9 or 10 is when the streets really begin to fill up.

Even at night, it is never dark..

One of the first things you learn in Korea is that Koreans love to drink. Everywhere you go you will see bars. And bars on top of bars.

..and bars beneath bars.

Unfortunately, the only thing Koreans seem to drink is soju. Soju and beer. The beer here is almost as watered down as American beer.At least its cheap. I’ll say this time and time again, but damn, I miss my imported beers. I had a Heineken the other day. Cost me about $8 for a bottle. Best use of $8 all week.
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November 6, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | 2 Comments