I am writing today to let you know about a new project that I have been working on.  I have been mentioning to my online communities in Linked in, Facebook, Twitter and other professional circles throughout the Journalistic communities in which I am involved that I am vamping up a brand new website.  This has been the base of my readership so far.  So I have been away for a while (thanks to those of you who’ve noticed and wrote in about that) working on this new project.

Well, it’s up and running.  But for the past three months, you might not have heard very much from me.  During this time I have been busy stockpiling information, comparing the most telling and controversial news stories on photojournalism and media ethics, collecting traveler’s features, writing up profiles on the most influential photographers,  creating photography contests and writing the legalese for the rules and submission guides, getting in touch with advertisers, connecting with like-minded professionals, networking with sites that are involved in the photography scene and much more.  And this was all on top of finishing my master’s thesis (which I just finished and turned in this week).

I have done all of this because I am investing in an effort.  It’s something that’s been a long time coming and I feel that it’s going to be the next big thing in my line of photographic and travel exploits.  I will finally be able to give something back to a community of dedicated readers, travel enthusiasts, and to all those travel writers and photographers that I have met along the way that they have all expressed interest in needing this type of information in one form or another.

It’s been a tough ride, but I think I’ve have created a website that covers all the things that I am interested in (and that you’re interested in, too).  These things are chiefly photography and travel.  But in blogging about them over the years I have found out that I am also interested in photo contests, travel gear, First Amendment rights in the photojournalism world and lots of other things that have come up in that time.  So, in addition to the focus that I have on travel and photography, I have created a theme in my site that includes all these other items as well.

And since you’re following me on this blog, I thought that you might be interested into its prodigal inception.  So I am proud to announce my new website, TPN Weekly!  This is my Weekly publication for Travel & Photography News .  The website is www.travelphotonewsweekly.com or you can click HERE for the direct link.

The key feature about TPN Weekly is that it not only has original articles by Yours Truly, but it also centralizes all the news from around the world that has to do with Travel (including deals, classifieds, timeshares, freebies, etc.), all the latest news in the world of photography (including the players from famous photographers to new jobs available in photography) and the gear that drives them both (so you can get the latest news on upcoming company releases from Canon, Nikon, Leica, Olympus, gear by Hoodman, new emerging companies, and on and on).

There is a classifieds section that you can submit things to if you’re selling them (I will prefer travel gear, photographic equipment or timeshares, etc., but I will post anything you send me because I’m a nice guy), or, as with most of what I have received, I will post job ads as well.

In addition, I also feature one key photographer each month.  Either I write a story about one of my favorite photographers or I find a great story and publish it on the site.  I have followed lots of photographers throughout their careers and to write about them is a great honor for me.  I report on emerging photographers as well as those who’ve been in the field a lifetime.  I also find it important to cover, in feature style, the different faces of traveling.  So I will also be including pieces on people who are out there traveling in unique ways or for unique focuses.  I have already had a few international cyclists sending me their stories to be published.  So that will be nice to see when they are published.

I also plan on having a photography contest started shortly.  It will be hosted through my photography website, cyleodonnell.com, and will include both cash prizes and free books to the winners.  Conditions apply, of course.  But it will probably catch on really well once it gets going and I start getting more and more visitors.  There will be a link for the photo contests below the header on TPN Weekly once the contests are announced (probably in mid January).  They will normally span about a month and will be themed.  So if the theme is “Food,” submissions will need to include food in some way.  You get the picture.

And lastly, if you would like to be signed up to receive updates from TPN Weekly, please send me an email that you’d like me to send a password to and I will subscribe you.  But because of the way that the site is updated, I have disabled all subscriptions except for the RSS Feeds which you can find below the header on the left.

At any rate, I wanted to send this out because I also wanted your perspective on TPN Weekly.  Please visit the site and let me know what you think.  There are comments sections on all the posts.  And you can check out all the new features mentioned above.  But I always appreciate personal correspondence.  If you have been emailing me at cyle@cyleodonnell.com, then you can continue using that address.  If you need an address for me that is tied to TPN Weekly, please use editor@travelphotonewsweekly.com.  I know it’s long, but once it’s in your emails it should autofill like any other address.

To go ahead and sign up here for the TPN Weekly updates, see below:

So, so start with, I have decided to post my very first production.  I created this video (in 4 parts) when I was in journalism school at Indiana University.  I took a bike trip through 12 countries (though the 6 of them didn’t make it onto this project) and I documented the entire thing — including the research prior to and following shooting.

It was from this first project that I got the idea to start my own production label, Moving Stills Pictures.  And under that label, from the Cyle O’Donnell Studio, came several more (and much better quality) films that followed me throughout many of my other trips.

So, without further ado, please enjoy these photo-films and expect more to come.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Also, I have decided to reintroduce my books for sale.  I didn’t agree with Blurb’s pricing, and I certainly don’t want people paying too much, but since they are easy to advertise with and they do a great job of allowing me to give previews of my books, I thought I would post them back here again.

Please note that the following two books are available on the blurb website, but if you purchase them on my website HERE, you will get the video that comes with it for only $5.00 (plus S&H).  It’s a great deal and the photography is among my best.

The following two links will only appear if you have the latest version of Flash.

Book one:

Book Two:

Of course, you’re welcome to come by the site and check out the photography any time, but these books and the prints available online are items you can have in your home library or on your coffee table.

So please consider purchasing a book, helping to support my travel and research and have a piece of the journey for yourself.

You know about my blog and all the traveling that I have been doing, but I wanted to announce the integration of my other photographic and networking pursuits.  So I wanted to add this latest journal entry to reach out and connect to more of you.  And in an effort to do that, I have spent the last few weeks creating profiles on several different social networking sites.  Among them are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and others.  So, below, click on the buttons that I have posted to connect with me through these sites if you have a profile on one or more of them and start receiving updates on the latest things that I am researching.

Connect with me on LinkedIn:

Follow on Twitter:

Follow @CyleODonnell

Find me on Facebook:

Cyle O’Donnell Photography on Facebook

Stumble with me:

Join my group:

Travel Photography and Photojournalism

My history with these social media sites is a short one.  So come help me develop!  Be my friend, Like my page, follow, link up, connect, comment, share, and whatever else you can do on these pages.  See who I am following, what sites I am checking out, what gear I am researching, what news stories I am keeping up with.  And best of all, share yours with me.

Hope to see you around!

Laborers throwing bags of rice from a truck; rich folk chatting away on their Blackberries; book-reading, iPod-flicking zombies pausing just inches before bumping into passersby as they come barreling into their shallow field of vision.  It’s a maze of trollies, Mercedes, buses, overhead walkways and cryptic alleys selling everything from pantyhose to Christmas lights.  And amid all this, surprisingly no other photographers.

For this trip, I made a special effort to work a my new style of photography that I have been wanting to integrate into my repertoire.  And it requires a tripod with a nice head and the ability to hold at least 8Kg of camera body and lens attachments.  So there I was, mid-sidewalk, setup and ready to shoot as the sea of people flowed around me, and I got the sense, for the first time while traveling, that I was no longer worried of being the victim of any type of robbery.

I know that sounds strange, but I am constantly on the lookout for quick hands, have an ever-present eye on my bag and know where all my camera gear is at all times.  But I suppose I took more comfort than usual in the massive swell of bodies in motion all around me.  I wouldn’t have been able to chase anyone down, shout at someone or for help or have much chance of even knowing if I was actually the victim of pick-pocketing.  But I was at ease nonetheless.

I guess that feeling came mostly because I was a point of attraction in the street.  So all the eyes peering in my direction acted as a web of security for anyone ballsy enough to approach and steal something from me.  It would probably be the equivalent of walking onto a stage in the middle of a ballet and trying to steal a tutu.  It was pretty refreshing, actually.  After all, this is no small city; and indeed no city which was unfamiliar with crime of all kinds.

But before I start a tangent, I want to discuss some items that will be shortly upcoming for this blog, blog #41, the content of future blogs and the big plans that I have for the future of the blog in general.  

For this blog, I’d like to introduce a new technique that I have been interested in since my Korea trip.  I wanted to do more of it on that trip, but I limited it mostly to gathering a style, hammering in the technique and then working on solid post-production.  This new technique is called High Dymanic Range photography, or HDR for short.

This type of photography consists of creating several frames of the same image at different exposures and capitalizing on their ability to draw from different gradients of light to maximize the feel of “being there,” visually speaking.  As you’re standing in a place, your eyes do a much better job of analyzing light as it truly appears.  The problem that cameras innately have, is that they can expose for only one temperature of light at a time.  This can be manipulated with the use of filters, multiple masking layers in editing and of course the software itself has, to some extent, the ability to draw out the other underexposed areas.

But when a camera can bracket several exposures almost simultaneously, it makes the work of getting the right all-around exposure pretty easy business.  And with new technology, powerful thinking by photographic creatives and lots of financial backing, software has come about that makes that process much easier.  But while HDR not only increases the amount of time needed to dedicate for still images on location, but adds a step in an already very tedious production process for large catalogs of images (that ultimately I have to deal with after every trip), it is much more rewarding once the final product is in.  The image at the top of this blog is the exact result of what I am describing here.  It is the way light hits the eyes naturally, exposing the under-eve locations of the scene just as would your eye’s quick and long-adapted ability to do so.

This image is another one of my favorites from the Hong Kong Collection.

This dramatic lighting comes from the multiple exposures that were created during a series of high-speed, continuous shooting that my Nikon has the ability to do, freezing the action sequence in a way that makes it possible to layer several different exposures into a single image.

But more about that later.  Another part of the plans that I have for this blog is the addition of two very exciting things.  I will be adding a discussion section of the newest gear that I am interested in like photographic equipment, travel guides and equipment, books, different websites that I keep up with and lots more to make things interesting.  And the other point that I am excited to be bringing to the blog is a photography contest!

I will be hosting a new photo contest each month with cash prizes for first and second place (well, a check, actually).  And lots of cool extras for participants.  But since this blog can’t handle that kind of memory (or won’t, really), I have opened up a new website that I will be announcing shortly.  There are some really great things afoot, so be sure to stay tuned for the latest on what’s happening.

And as for the blog that will be carried over to the new site, I want to also introduce new features that I have wanted to implement and that I think will really be good for the site (and that you will enjoy seeing).  Firstly, I plan on putting up lots of videos.  I liked seeing them in other blogs that I subscribe to and I have regretted not putting more emphasis on that here.  And since I will be traveling with my wife from now on, I have my cameraman (er, woman).  Travel videos, tutorials, discussions on the latest gear that’s out there are all going to be part of my upcoming videos.

Secondly, since I will be moving the location of this blog, I will also have a member’s area where you can log on, post links to your site, get your photos seen, link to your twitter account or Facebook and even start discussions of what interests you in the worlds of travel, writing and photography.

Thirdly, (and the best part) is that you can also be a part of the creation of the new site.  I want your input as to what you want to see in the new page.  Some of you have been with me for the entire five years that I have kept this blog.  So you know what you want to see.  You can tell me which sections you’d like to see the most; which ideas appeal to you to see online; and even come up with new themes for upcoming photo contests.

I want to form a community where I, and others, can come and keep up with others out there traveling, writing and doing what they love (and all those who live vicariously through them).  But I will be discussing that more in upcoming blogs.  For now, though, I have the great Hong Kong to blog about.  Don’t worry, I will be talking about my newest favorite gear in this blog as well.

Lastly, I have several books slated to be published next year and, as well as portraits and landscapes, I will be hosting them on this new site.  I will give some of them away as prizes and will also host books by other authors like me trying to gain more exposure.  I will, of course, be doing this overseas, so you’ll have to be willing to wait a few weeks for delivery if you’re the lucky winner.  But I will get you your prizes, I promise.

But I don’t want to stray too far from the norm of the blog just yet.  So in light of the mention of my interest in discussing books, I wanted to point out one that I purchased while I was in Hong Kong.  It’s a great read and it’s written by Gordon Matthews, a professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who’s taken a really interesting avenue for his research.  He’s stayed at least one night at the Chungking Mansions each week for the three years preceding this book (and I am willing to bet, a few more).  In his book, Ghetto at the Center of the World, he describes the Chungking Mansion as a dilapidated, 16-story commercial and residential structure in the heart of Hong Kong’s tourist district.  It’s home to a remarkably motley group of people including traders, laborers, asylum seekers, drug dealers, prostitutes  and even foreign workers who return home once every few months.

Of course, I stayed there as well.  And I have to say, the research alone that went into this book had to be pretty entertaining.  Every night there was some really amazing activities afoot right outside the gates.  The on-duty security guards mostly laughed along with the residents at what was happening.  But I didn’t feel unsafe (mostly) while I was there.

I can say, though, that this little building that would be boarded up and locked down for fear of collapse in many other countries, was a truly amazing oddity to be sandwiched amid the looming towers in the multinational headquarters of the world’s financial mecca.  Multinational corporations and global companies might barely even lift a proverbial eye brow in its direction.  But this dusty edifice probably had more character attraction on one floor than several of its goliath neighbors put together.

Anyway, it’s a great read if you get the chance to pick it up.  But what better way to paint a picture of my experience in Hong Kong.  It was really great.  And the people were something unexpected, too.

As far as the city goes, from the cobbles in the alleyways to the marble floors at Starbucks, this, like many other huge, Asian cities, was basically a huge shopping mall.  But the people were what made it surprising.  Mostly they kept to themselves.  But when bumped into (which was a rare occurrence indeed) there was always a hand wave and an apologetic look which was normally followed by an “excuse me.”  And that reminds me, everyone speaks English in Hong Kong.  So if you’re on your way there, you don’t have to worry about brushing up on your Cantonese first.  But while you might not want to carry all those extra pieces of luggage through this unforgiving maze of concrete, you may want to overpack your wallet.  This place is EX-PENS-IVE.  And by no means should you take that lightly.  You will go through more money here than most other places you’ll go.  Make no mistake about that.

Not only is the exchange rate very difficult to quickly calculate mentally, it’s also difficult to bargain with people here because they’re so used to catering to so many currencies that they will try and work into other denominations to make it sound like a better deal.  Talk about a headache.  My calculator was the first thing to materialize when I approached any booth, table or counter — long before the money came out.

The trip wasn’t that long, really.  All I had to do was get my residence visa worked out for Taiwan and check into my Myanmar tourist visa for my next visit there early next year.  So the rest of the time was spent in book stores, checking out the sites, photographing amazing street action and, oh yeah, the best part: sailing through Victoria Harbor and Kowloon Bay.  I have wanted to do that for so long.

Downsides to HK: if you’re not used to walking on inclined planes, you’ll be dead within hours of arriving.  That, or you’ll simply never get anything done.  Walking is everything.  And everything is slanted vertically.  So start your hikes early in preparation for a visit.

Upside, you can get anything you want here (and I mean that literally).  And for being in Asia for the last three years, it’s nice to get an American cheeseburger and fries with real pickles and real ketchup/mayo and all the trimmings.  Quite enjoyable.

Okay, to make sure I am not a liar; here is my GEAR OF THE WEEK:

Introducing the Nikon V1: the super-revolutionized CSC camera.  For lack of a quicker description; it’s BAAAADASS!

It was supposed to be unveiled last month but had some delays.  Nevertheless, it will be the new face of pocket-sized epicness in the photographic world.  It’s got the obligatory interchangeable lenses (four, at present), does full 1080i HD video (which I have salivated over for adding video to my blog) and is even adaptable to fit any of the Nikon F-mount lenses (the regular ones).  It’s like that .38 special that cops keep in their ankle holster for that last ditch guarantee of getting off the right shot.  Read about it here.  It’s my pick of the week.

And, not to be outdone by my travel fix, I also have a great little getaway escape plan for all of you stateside:

Adventure Adviser for Outdoor Magazine [Article HERE] has an amazing find.  Don’t worry about hotels on your next trip.  Stay in a treehouse.   They have lots to choose from — across the nation, at least.

A list of locations and prices follows:

Cedar Creek Treehouse, Washington

Perched 50 feet up a two-century-old western red cedar in the shadow of Mount Ranier, Cedar Creek is the granddaddy of treehouse hotels in the US, if not the world. At the top of the winding staircase you’ll find a simple kitchen, a bathroom with a camp toilet, a sleeping loft, and a glass-walled observation room. Electricity is provided by solar panels, and owner Bill Compher hauls the water supply up to the rooms. If, for whatever reason, you feel compelled to spend some time on the ground, the Nisqually River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park is just 10 minutes away by car. $300 per night per couple, adults only.

Edisto River Treehouses, South Carolina

Unlike the other spots on this list, you have to earn the privilege of staying in an Edisto River Treehouse. Reaching it entails paddling 13 miles through cypress and willows on the slow-flowing blackwater of the Edisto until you reach the Edisto River Refuge in southeastern South Carolina. The three treehouses on site are relatively hidden from each other. None have electricity or hot water, but each has little luxuries, like a grill on the porch and a rope hammock. Bring your own food. $150 per person per night.

Winvian Resort, Connecticut

Carved into the Litchfield Hills a couple of hours from both Boston and New York City, the posh, quirky Winvian Resort is a destination unto itself—which makes sense, considering the price. Spread across its 113 acres are 13 cottages, all built on different themes. Among them are the rustic Log Cabin, the barn-inspired Stable, and the Helicopter (complete with a Sikorsky in the living room). The Treehouse cabin is constructed 35 feet above the ground, and comes complete with two wood-burning fireplaces. You can hike, mountain bike, play croquet, canoe, take a hot air balloon ride, or get a treatment in the world-class spa, all on or near the Winvian property. The all-inclusive rate of $1,600 per night includes meals and alcohol, but not spa treatments. Slightly less pricey a la carte rates start at $950, double occupancy.

Let me know if any of you make it out to any of these.  They look like a blast!

Don’t forget to drop by the website, cyleodonnell.com, and check out the new Hong Kong gallery.

Until next time, happy trails!

Firstly, as a recent Matador University Photography Alumnus, I have learned lots that will undoubtedly help me navigate the waters of creating more exciting blogs.  This will include videos, photography discussions, a weekly favorite pick of the best photographs on the internet as well as the latest gear to come into the mainstream. And I will be looking for input from readers that are interested in more.

Here’s my graduation banner:

My website, cyleodonnell.com, is in it’s third year, while the photo galleries, books and blogs have been running since 2005 and, to some extent, beyond.  And during that time, I have trekked nearly 30 nations, ridden my bicycle through 12 countries, written 10 books, produced a database containing more than 25,000 images and made a dozen films from my research and documentary photography.

It’s been a blast.  It’s been an amazing and highly recommended experience.  And sometimes, it’s even been bittersweet.  But it’s never been disappointing.

I have learned so much about myself and this big, wonderful world we all share.  And I have had the opportunity to do things most people tell me they may never do.  In this amazing time, though, I reflect and think about what I have been given — what I have been blessed to receive.  And my wife is at the top of that list.

When I think of all the amazing experiences that I have had, I have never before felt that there was anything missing in them until this last trip.  I hadn’t even been traveling more than a day without her when I started to feel that there was just something not right about this junket.  I was still experiencing amazing things and seeing amazing sights.  But I just felt like I wasn’t complete because I wasn’t sharing them with her.

So perhaps it’s good to start off the next 40 journals in my blog with new insights into what’s coming next.  And I hope that they all contain memories of the rest of my traveling days experiencing amazing things together with the person I love.

Please stop by and visit the website.  Check out the newest additions to the photography section and then come back to the blog and post a comment here telling me what you think.

Updates include: Indonesia galleries; a new gallery in the Thailand page as well as updates to the galleries in Thailand; North and South Korea galleries; more Malaysia galleries; a new Singapore gallery; and the publication of my newest book which will be available soon.

Just click HERE.

Well, I am home and finally settled from the two weeks in Korea.  It was an amazing experience.  Overall, Korea is a place of hidden gems.  There is a sense of “manufactured” environment in many of the parks and reserves.  But in all that, it’s still something to be experienced.  It has a sense of human manipulation that I haven’t seen anywhere else.  It’s like they had a picture of what the environment was supposed to look like.  And instead of simply leaving nature to its course, they “made” it look permanently to their scale of how it should stay.

And it’s things like that which make Korea unique.  Of course there are beautiful places that have been left to the elements and have weathered into wonderful view-scapes of hillside and country.  And there are plenty of peaks to climb and villages to see.  But I think if you’ve ever been in a place where you look at something and your eyes don’t immediately register the information in your brain and you eventually figure out that it’s just an obscure scene; that’s what Korea is.  The customs and traditional life that takes place here, even with pop culture and fashion trickling in from all sides, are the stranger of the two things that your brain thinks your eyes are creating an images of.   You just know that what you’re seeing in Korea could quite possibly be normal.  But upon further investigation, they’re simply not.  They are the refined items that Korea has created over the years.  And there they sit; seemingly normal but profoundly off-centered.

As my time passed traveling throughout the Korean Peninsula, I was reminded of the joys of traveling to these new and fascinating places.  I was gifted with the insights of a new way of thinking.  I achieved experiential knowledge and the lessons it uses at imparting that knowledge.  And I had a peak into a new world with new rules.  It was truly something that I won’t forget.
Soon, I will be headed for Hong Kong; a city straddling the Bay of Victoria and bursting with lights and sounds of a busy metropolis.  I hope to come back with great photos of architecture, nightlife and of course, the people who make it all run.  It will be my forth time passing through, but this time I plan on putting in some time and visiting as much of it as I can.

Until then, I hope that you have all enjoyed this latest entry into my blog of travel and research from around the globe.  And I hope to have you back with me soon.

Be sure to go to my website, cyleodonnell.com, for the best and newest photography from these and other travels and for my latest books available through the site.  I hope to have at least two more published in the next six months.  So keep an eye out!

So it’s my last night here in Korea.  I decided to leave Jeju and come to Incheon where, I once thought, the city’s Chinatown held new opportunities for some great market photographs or architecture.  I was, I guess, hoping for some Chinese temples where I could snap a few shots of the animals cresting their eves or a dragon greeting me at the entrance.  Maybe I was expecting lots of commotion as bustling streets flowed with people moving goods and foodstuffs around with a sense of navigation that westerners can only stand back and gawk at.  Or perhaps I was hoping for some food that swelled with the heat that comes off it, food that you don’t have to crack open or cook yourself.

Alas, there was nothing.  Or perhaps I should say, there was nothing worth taking photos of.  Drab and somber, the entire area looked more like it was the outskirts of something much more interesting.  Its grimy streets and heavy overcast gave it a feel of old timey poverty just before a dustbowl was set to come in and put to rest any fleeting images of holding on to the last few drumbeats of an economic heartbeat.  It seemed like this was the place that was bashed with North Korean gunfire back in 2010.  But even that place was not far from here.  Only about 30 kilometers or so.

At any rate, I followed what I thought were Lonely Planet’s directions for a motel near the subway that I would take in the morning to get to the airport.  But after walking way too far with all my gear, I finally just used my visual knowledge of reading Korean signage and found a motel across the street from a pizza joint and down the block from a subway entrance and called it a night.  These two landmarks represented what my will had been ground down to; food and the quickest way to exit this country.  I’m certainly not regretting my time here.  It just seems like, now that the end is right around the corner, I may as well get it over with.

Anyway, apparently in my learning of Korean advertisements, I could read enough to know that the sign said “motel.”  But clearly I hadn’t learned what the text for “love” was.  When I checked in, I thought that it was odd that they owners didn’t give me a key to my room.  They also kept asking me in Korean if it was going to be just me in the room.  I kept saying that I, alone, was going to be sleeping and needed a key to protect my valuables.  But they were simply not happy with my response.

Before I go on, I think it would be better if I explained just what a “love motel” and its purpose is.  Now, normally one would simply think, ‘Oh, well it’s obviously a cathouse and there’s nothing more to think about it.’  But, like most other things here in Asia, it has a deeper meaning and purpose.  And, make no mistake, its meaning and purpose follow lines to a source that hold no bearing on whether or not the western world would approve or even understand that logic.

A love motel can be rented by the night or by the hour.  A man can get a room alone, wake up with a woman and never feel shame from the owners as he’s checking out.  The owners of these establishments generally offer a woman to single men checking in and can suggest a man for the single ladies.  A love motel is a place most often occupied by actual couples.  But it can also be used as a discrete meeting place for strangers.

In America, it undoubtedly seems a little strange that a couple would check into a hotel for one night – or even a few hours.  It might also come off as odd that the owners might have some say in the eventuality in the population of each room’s occupancy.  It may also come as a huge shock that these motels have resident “lovers” who, from birth, have lived there to pay off their parent’s debt as sex slaves.  But then again, there are many things that Americans will never understand about what goes on in this strange corner of the world.

As the tradition goes in most parts of Asia, it is expected that the children, once married, move into the house of the husband’s parents.  It’s also expected that the wife becomes, for lack of a more polite description, a slave to the parents – fulfilling chores, errands and other demands.  Keeping in good with a family that demands strict adherence to a very conservative lifestyle, then, becomes an everyday challenge.  Sex, therefore, is a bit of an uncomfortable item which brings a lot of stress to the already difficult nature of a new marriage.

Love motels sprang up out of the resulting need for privacy in these new relationships in the turning of the world’s traditional ways.  These motels were first used as places for dating couples to spend anything from a few days of relaxation to just a quick visit between their busy lives.  From there, of course, the Asian culture of why-can’t-we-have-everything-we-want came into play and they started to gain popularity for other types of visits.  And as for the lifetime resident lovers; well, that was a tradition long preceding the invention of the love motel.

For thousands of years the ideals of Buddhism played into the perpetual cycle of reincarnation and parents thought once their daughters were born when they were expecting a boy, it was their karma giving them the requirement of payment for their ills in previous lives.  So giving up their daughters as payment for this karma was the right thing to do.  Their daughters, in turn, were taught their life of sexual servitude was them paying off their karma as well – otherwise, why would they have been born as the payment of their parent’s karma?

It makes a lot more sense once you have been living in Asia for a while and can understand the mentality of all the intricacies of what goes along with the absolute and unquestioning belief in rebirth.

So there I was, being probed by the owners of this motel and the lady starts moving her hands through her hair.  I had no idea what this meant until some time later.  But once she was satisfied – though not very pleased – knowing that I would be staying one night, alone and not be in need of anything “else” from them, she came up with her price and charged me for the room.

Once checked in, I dug out some cash and went across the street to the pizza place for edible, non-seafood that I didn’t have to break the shells off of or barbecue myself.  On the way, though, I kept wondering what the lady meant when she was combing her hands through her hair.  And it eventually came to me.  She was asking me if I wanted a woman for the night.  Then all the other mannerisms came into understanding as well.

The couple were upset that I didn’t want a woman because they could charge me more for the room.  They were displeased that I would only make them money on the room when, ultimately, this was not the kind of place where they only charge for the room.  This also explained the delay in coming up with a price for the room – essentially an overcharge.  And they didn’t give me a key because they wanted me to ask them for the key every time I wanted to enter the room because they didn’t want me hiring a woman from the street or from the little paper advertisements I would see taped up to the underside of steps throughout the alleyways all over the city.  That was the competition.  And for these elderly, Asian pimps, that’s just not the kind of place they run.

Since having been back in Taiwan, I have done more research into this and have talked to natives who indicate the benefit of short-term motels is much greater than having to put up with the prying eyes and ears of older, more traditional parents who would just as soon have their daughter-in-laws doing back-breaking work than to spend their nights corrupting their respectable son’s sensibilities.  They also confirmed that the majority of the love motel’s use was limited to these situations rather than for the sex-shops they’d more easily become reputed as being.

Nevertheless, my last night in Korea did little more to put me at ease but ultimately summed up all my experiences in that amazing country.  No matter where you go in Korea, you’re sure to find yourself in one inextricably unique situation after another as you navigate the intricate web of peculiarities of everything from traditional Hanok Villages kept in the old ways complete with dances to entice the soil’s richness, to parks dedicated to phallic splendor.

Stay tuned for my last blog on my Korea trip and a toast for things to come.

If it’s not the broken foot that made this trip great, it was certainly the motorbike that broke it.  This trip was just what I needed after a night of gloom and a hangover that threatened to chew its way right out of my abdomen like some alien movie.  But all things considered, that would have probably been an experience all in itself.  And therefore, I’d probably embrace it as I have the rest of the oddities along this long, winding road carved into the limestone bedrock of the Korean Peninsula.

The day started off great.  I was up at 6am to hop a bus to the south of the island where I would take part in one or more of several key items listed on Lonely Planet’s inventory of must-see’s abound.  They ranged in definition from slightly dangerous to downright taboo.   And I was navigating my morning in the wake of a fresh detox.  So what I saw was a recipe for fun and ordered up a heaping helping of misadventure with a side order of senselessness.

Unfortunately, one hour into my ride I found out that I was not on the right bus.  But that was only a minor setback because I had plotted points all over the map that I wanted to see and there were a couple in that direction as well.

Once off the bus, I snapped a couple pictures of the volcanic tuffs in the horizon.  Then I went on what turned out to be an early morning 5k walk and found out the hard way that this stretched out town along the sea was no place for a sweaty westerner with an expectation for seeing all there was to see in just one day.  It just wasn’t going to happen in the time I had if I had to walk it all the way.

I eventually came across this little shop run by an older couple.  The husband had a cap that I hired as the mule that would save me from walking another 10 kilometers into town.  But whether I was walking or in a whatever I employed to speed up my sweaty trek, the Korean oddities just kept coming.  All along the roadway there were things that just looked normal being in Korea, but so abnormal had they been in any other place.

On the other hand, the people that have added so much flavor to the preceding moments of this trip were out in full flavor as well.  I snapped a shot of this shipbuilder grinding down the last of his nicks and burrs off the anchor he’d been repairing.  And the closer that I came to the capital city of the south of the island, Seogwipo, the more interesting the buildings looked and the more flavorful the people.  

Once in town, I headed straight for the oceanfront.  It was very quiet all around, but I made my way to the pier and could tell that it was going to be a nice, bright day with lots of opportunities for great shots.

Looking directly across the inlet, I could see what looked like a huge park with inlets hidden by the large, vertical pillars building up the volcanic rock wall.  I’d find out later that there were plenty of great little hikes, waterfalls and seaside resting areas to check out along the way.

What I expected to find was these amazing geological oddities.  But along with finding them, I also found some other amazing things in the area.

Columnar basalt rock comes from areas of high submarine volcanic eruptions.  Once the magma opens up on the sea floor, it quickly hardens, creating conditions where jointed columns of volcanic flows can be forced up over the seabed and given a longer time to cool and, under pressure, make large, polygonal pilasters.   The areas where millions of these pillars (and other basalt formations) have been pushed up through the ocean floor to the surface are called “tuffs.”  They are also known as pyroclastic rock formations.  But whatever they were called, I was on my way to see the most awesome tuff I of all.  Well, besides the fact that it was a famous one, it was technically going to be the only one I have ever seen.  But I was no less excited to do so.

But before getting there, I knew I had to rent a motorbike to see all that this spread out expanse of land had to offer.  So, on the way, I found a a place to grab a bite and sat on the steps inside to fuel up before I kept on.  While I was sitting there, though, I noticed and interesting sign.

Now, I have seen a lot of strange translations on signs throughout Asia.  And most of the time, I wonder how this translation got all the way through the design phase, through production, printing, constructing and finally even being posted without someone actually reading it and wondering if there might be a better translation out there somewhere.  In fact, I often wonder if anyone actually even asked a white person how this phrase was supposed to be worded before putting up a ridiculous sign that means something much more comical than the author had intended.  But this one definitely perplexed me.  It was a sign on a trash bin.  And, well I will just let you see if you can try and figure out what the hell they were trying to tell you what to put in there other than your dog.

Walking along the coast was great.  I really liked the gardens and the way they were kept.  It was cool to see so much use of the volcanic rock that was so readily available.  And the things they crafted with it include everything from fences and sculptures to stepping stones and even curbs and sidewalks.

Moving onward, I could see that I was nearing a large waterfall that I had known would be around there somewhere.  It was cool.  Just a quick hike down and I was at its base.  It was very tall — 20 meters or so.  And I could see that during seasons of high rainfall, this could really be a very active one.

After that I made my way back up the hill and into town where I rented a motorbike and set off westward to circle the eastern roadways and head back to eventually make it back to the hotel on the other side of the island.  It was a long, comfortable ride punctuated with wonderful seascapes and vistas of people, animals and object of a very diverse nature in their own world.  It was something I won’t soon forget.

But another thing I won’t soon forget is the crash that snapped my left foot completely backward and left me limping for days as my blue-black ankle swelled to near bursting before the trip even started.  I wish that I could say that I wrecked to save some poor child who’d run into the road after is bouncy play thing had found him careening into my path and it was either him or me.  I wish I could say that the bike malfunctioned and the brakes went out, sending me barreling into the curb at an uncontrollable speed and I dove from the bike having known what to do in an instant’s notice and rolled to safety.  Hell, I wish I could say anything but the truth.  Which is that I turned to look at some random noise that happened behind me and when I turned back around, I was half-a-second away from plowing into the curb.  But I must admit the truth.  And when I hit the curb for lack of operable ability to manipulate the handlebars with cat-like calculation, I was sent over the handle bars and then the bike came over top of me.

It was completely embarrassing.  But what’s worse is that I scuffed up my favorite pair of shoes.  They remind me of Indiana Jones.  They’ve been with me for the last seven years of travel.  They’re so comfortable.  And they’ve even been resoled to keep me from having to try fruitlessly to find a size-12 in Asia to replace them.  They’re great.  And the best part is that I bought them for $10 at a thrift shop in Mercer Island, outside Seattle, Washington.  I will be oiling the hell out of them to try and save them.  But I am not holding out too much hope.  Time will tell.

Making my way to the tuff it was so awesome when I finally breached the last turn before seeing it tower high above the mainland below.  I had no idea that it was that big or amazing.  It was really something impressive.  Hiking up its western side, there’s only one way that you can view it.  But it was enough to be impressed.  The surrounding area from the top is really interesting, too.  It’s sea-chiseled bluffs and land jetties were quite random and beautiful from way up there.  Here are a few photos of the climb and the surrounding area.

You can click on them to enlarge the photo just like in the galleries.

Well, this could be a very long journal if I detail every single experience that I had while pulling over to all the awesome places that I saw along the way back around the coast.  But I think I will just add in a gallery and hope that the photos will fill in the blanks.  It was an awesome trip and I was so happy that I got to do it — injuries and all.

Remember, click to enlarge!

Okay, there’s one more blog on the way and I will be home from Korea.

Okay, so this morning, I didn’t think I was going to make it to the airport on time.  In fact, I don’t think I actually did make it on time.

For starters, I thought that my flight was at 9:30.  And when I woke up at 9:15, I almost lost my breath.  I can’t believe that I had slept through my alarm.  But partying until 3am sometimes has that effect.  At any rate, I threw my clothes on, packed my bags and ran out to catch the bus to the airport.  It was quick and efficient, but expensive as far as buses go in Korea.

A half-hour later, I was sifting through people at the small but crowded airport when I realized I didn’t know what airline I was taking.  Luckily, in the domestic gates, there were only two airlines.  So I have a 50/50 chance of getting it on the first shot.  Korea Airways and Asiana were my choices.  And since the Korea counter was closest, I headed over and checked in.  They found my flight was actually booked for 10:30.

It was 10:15 when I arrived, so I had just enough time to grab a sandwich and a water from the shop and run to the gate for probably the easiest time at an airport in recent memory.  It was a breeze.  It was like the held on to the flight for me, didn’t give me any crap for carrying on my umbrella and then gave me a snack break in order to get some breakfast down.

Once on the ground, I was able to make my way to a beachfront hotel and check in.  I spent the rest of the day editing photos, so I didn’t get to see much.  But I can say that the first thing you start to see everywhere on this island are these interesting little statues.  They really are everywhere.  People put them in their gardens, they’re on fence posts, overlooking bridges and building entryways — everywhere!

They come in all sorts of sizes and are mostly made from the volcanic rock that’s found all over the island.  But they are also seen in wood and other substances.  Mostly they just have this stoic look on their faces.  But every once in a while you’ll see one smiling or made to look more like some animal or something.

There are so many of them that it started to feel like I was on Ester Island — but still in a city.

There are a lot of interesting things about Jeju Island.  Firstly, it’s the only autonomous province in Korea.  It’s Korea’s largest island.  It sits in the Korea Strait.  It has the larges flowing lava tube in the world.  And it’s got tons of amazing geological formations.  There’s everything from waterfalls and lava tuffs to columnar lava pilings and hot springs.

It can be visited in just a couple days.  But to see all that it has to offer, it’s best to spend a week here.

Now, I have to say that the people have been getting more and more abrupt the further south I have traveled in Korea.  In fact in Busan people were practically yelling at one another, and the most I could gather, beyond the fact that they were not really angry with each other, was that they were simply a rougher breed than their northerly cousins.  But here in Jeju they are basically all out at each other.  They really enjoy screaming into the phone and generally being as hostile as they can possibly be.

Much of the gloom can be pretty well seen in the representative water park in town.  Once you come to the main stretch just past the bus stop, you come to this “T” junction — another main artery through this part of town — and as you peer through the rusted out gates, you can see this disheveled park in its ramshackle state with upturned metal shards on the platforms where rust has withered its once-sound support system underfoot.  It’s frightening to look at.  But what’s worse is that it’s still functional — and I am assuming that term is used loosely — during the warmer months.  It’s frightening because kids play there, young adults congregate there; and all the while, the holes in the walkway threaten to break knees and remove toes as people break through them.  It’s a mystery that in a developed country, this place passes inspection.

More adventures tomorrow!

Till then, have a good night!

So, after my day of temples, bugs and journalists, I have compiled a nice gallery to go along with Journal 35 (part 1) and it follows.

For the rest of the night, I pattered around the beach closest to the hostel and noticed some nice sights around the area.

The buildings that surround the little bay that makes up the area’s beach are lit up in dazzling colors.  It’s great for the views, but they also bring out a lot of other interesting things as well.  Firstly, the musicians and painters like to flock around lighted sculptures shaped like huge elk from Montana and oversized pottery that looms over the fishing blocks.

The artists might be expected.  But things that were a little abnormal were, for instance, the reiki master who scans his clients’ bodies for illnesses and ailments and then gives the customer a reading of how to fix these problems.  That guy was probably the last one I would expect to see there.

But I kept going and tried to cover as much of the area as I could because I knew that the next day, I’d be on a flight to Jeju Island — a place teeming with crazy and cool things to do like see the sex sculptures on the west side; or go to one of the myriad golf ranges on the island; or do bumper cars, ride go-carts or go horse riding — available all under one roof — in the south; or ride a motorbike around the outside of the island.  But tonight it was all about the beachfront bars and lights.

I spent a good deal of the night walking around the beach.  But then I went into what looked like this nice place overlooking the water to have a couple games of darts and go home.  But I would up getting invited to a club called “Billie Jean’s” in another part of town.  It was all that it sounds like it is: music from the 80′s and Asians who love to dance to it.

So that was my night.  I rushed home at 3am to hopefully get enough sleep to make it to the airport in time to make my 9:30am flight to Jeju.  But, knowing how time works here in the southern part of Korea, I was pretty sure that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Soon it would be fun in the sun and checking out all that Korea’s most prized tourist island has to offer.  I just hope that it’s not too sunny out.  I haven’t been reacting too well to the sunburns that I have gotten so far.  And if it’s anything like the sun in most tropical islands I have gone to in this part of the world, I am in for a few nights of jamming on the bed, oiled to the gills in aloe and watching all my episodes of “Raising Hope” that I got just before I left for this trip.

But here’s hoping that I will make it for three last days in style.