I'll be posting my photos from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea shortly, but first I wanted to mention that I also spent a few fantastic days in Beijing, China! I explored the Forbidden City, watched some traditional Chinese theatre at a Tea House, ate scorpions off a stick in a market, and explored the Great Wall. Unfortunately my camera batteries died on my way to the wall and I wasn't able to get any photos of that experience; but I'll at least have the memories. Here are a few snaps of the Forbidden City. More soon...

I spent six fascinating days in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, also known to us in the west as North Korea. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. I'll never forget my experiences in such a different country just a few hours north of where I am now.

Beijing, China / Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea here I come. I'll be making my return to Daegu on the 22nd. I've jazzed up the site a little bit; take a look around. I've also posted a song that I've been listening to a lot lately; it's by a boy named Eric Ayotte. Just click the big ol play button below. Talk soon, friends.

I'm just about set for my trip. Picked up my bus ticket to the airport, some Chinese currency, some Euros for the DPRK (it's against the law for foreigners to use the local currency). I have a short day at work tomorrow and then I'm off! There is no internet in the DPRK, or at least it's extremely restricted so there will be no further blog posts until the 23rd of February; except for one final blog post tomorrow.

I stumbled upon a flower viewing at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan. The showing lasted about a month and a half from the beginning of January until mid February.

I spent some time visting Buddhist Temples during my trip to Tokyo. There is something about the temples that fascinates me... and you don't really see things like this everyday in Canada. I like to think I took full advantage of my opportunity to visit these places. I'm looking into doing a temple stay in a month of two where I'll live the life of a monk for a weekend. I have no doubt it will be a memorable experience.

I had the chance to check out two shows while in Tokyo. The first was at a spot called Nana Hari. The space itself was in the basement of a little art gallery. It redefined the meaning of intimidate. The music was sweet, minimal and honest. My second look into the Tokyo underground was much different; a wild show at the legendary EarthD/O/M/; arguably Tokyo's best hc/punk venue. This spot, located in the Shinjuku district was dark, loud, and wild as hell. There were a number of Tokyo based bands as well as a few Japanese touring punk bands who leveled everyone on this night.

On my last day in Tokyo I made my way to Ueno Park. I was pretty much out of money and had to think of cheap things to do. The park was only a short walk from my hostel. It was a really nice spot; there was a Buddhist temple, a flower festival, a ton of really expensive museums that I couldn't afford, but it also had a hidden surprise; cats! It seemed that everytime I peared into the trees I saw a tabby relaxing in the shade. They were strays but they seemed quite well fed; I would see an empty can of Tuna next to a slumbering feline from time to time. I imagine the tourists and locals feed them. They were quite friendly and helped provide me with an little escape from the city so I could catch my breath before flying back to Seoul.

I'll be uploading the Tokyo photos later this week; there are quite a few to go through. In the mean time I want to share with you this little gem I found downtown. Record players seem to be pretty hard to come by in Daegu. I had scoped an area out a few weeks ago thinking that I would be able to go and pick up a record player anytime I wanted. I went on my mission a few days ago and to my dismay learned that the shops I had seen only serviced and fixed record players; they didn't actually sell them. I felt pretty down on my luck but I didn't give up hope and kept wandering around the dark streets. In broken Korean I was able to get directions from a nice shop owner to where I may be able to get what I wanted. I walked a few blocks and discovered a tiny little shop hidden away in an alley. It was a family run type of business and they were very nice; they set me up with everything that I needed; tested it out and showed me a couple of cool Korean records and even helped me get a cab back to my place afterward. It was incredible luck. So now I spend my days rocking out in my flat to the sweet sweet sounds of the records I picked up in Japan. It's a powerful little set up. I need to choose a name for it.