Muses along the way…

As of today, this blog should be closed. I guessed for the last few months, there have only been problems with comments not being able to be posted, limited picture postings…. etc.

Thanks for all your support. From now on, I will start blogging at: Vincent’s new blog!

Do have a look starting next week. Something should be posted up there by then…… the only difference is that you won’t get anymore annoying notifications from Friendster, which I suppose is a relief for some of yous.

Cheers - Vince

Traffic speed cameras: The whole point is so that drivers are always edgy, and they quit speeding right?

Now why and who would put up warning signs for friggin speed cameras anyway?! Well, they do in Korea….. That pissed me laughing when I first saw it! It sorta goes like this:

You’re crusin’ along in your car at 120kmph down the road, and you see one of these….. You slow down to 60kmph.

Sure enough, you spot one of these exactly 600m down the road as the previous sign says. You smile, do the peace sign with your hands, and say "Kimchi" while posing for the camera.

Its definitely a speed camera because its got the double lenses on each camera. Having passed that, you now have permission to speed.

WARNING: Just watch out for the next one!

I don’t normally prop up the scene to take pictures, but since I did go out with a photography-major friend this weekend, she suggested taking one of these. Thought it was pretty cool.

The rest of the pictures can be found in album "021 Hadong, Korea - Aug ‘05" of:

Vincent’s Yahoo! album

Received a small gift from Mr. Park today, who’ll leave this job-site for another project tomorrow. You’re supposed to roll it in a clenched fist, and it should ‘open up clogged veins and stimulate blood flow’. Its the Korean well-being thing.

Will probably give it a shot, and stop when my hands hurt…….. which is now!

Here’s a highlight of a typical concept in Korea, the concept of a "bang" (방)/rooms. You’ll see a lot of these if you ever visit ANY part of Korea……

• Nore-bang:
  "Song room" as the direct translation has it, is basically the same as a karaoke/KTV with individual singing rooms.
  Do note however, there are the two typical types of norebangs. First, the ‘clean’ ones, where families and friends can enjoy a fun night out singing - the Koreans love singing.
  Second, is the ones with the ‘extra service’ where the moment you sit down, you’d be asked if you needed company, whom will probably entice you with alcohol, or more… xxx
• Nore gayo-bang (update!):
  I guess its the same as a nore-bang, except that "gayo" implies that they have more traditional Korean music…… The three words - 연습장 (yeonseubjang) means "work/practice book". It also means its clean (no extra company).
• Game-bang:
  Walk in, and choose from a long list of games you’d like to play, while sipping on an order of lemonade. Anything from Jenga to chess. Its actually pretty cool~
• Soju-bang:
  Typical drinking place where friends meet up, and have a few rounds of soju (Korean liquor) and a good night out. Usually you’d order up some roasted cuttlefish, nuts and chips to go with the drinks.
• Jimjil-bang:
  "Steam" room. Steaming saunas, soaking pools of various water temperatures, naked men and women (segragated) - believe you me…. its embarassing for me too. That says it all.
• PC bang:
  All workstations are equipped with webcam, online gaming capabilities and mic/headphones. Just sit down and do whatever you want - email, online games, surf… etc.
• Hanyag-bang/guk:
  Korean medicine room.
  Sells traditional Korean medication.
• Sarang-bang/Love-bang (update!):
  "Sarang" means "love". But it does not translate into "Love-room", as of when I wrote this blog last…… sorry!
  "Sarang-bang" was a room in a traditional Korean home, where the husband studied and entertained his guests. There’s also a local newspaper called sarang-bang, which is where this picture/advertisement came from.
  However, the "Sarang-bang" or "Love-Bang" (러브방) names are often what some of the whoring businesses call themselves…… and that is true!
• DVD-bang:
  Pick a DVD and watch it in the comfort of your own mini-room/theater. Let’s just put it this way, not everyone goes there for movies. I have heard some DVD bangs come equipped not with a couch, but a bed. Go figure.
• Coffee-bang (update!):
  Looks like innocent place for coffee? Not really…… usually involves girls (agashis) sitting down next to you while having a cuppa.

This was at the site carpark when I was in Bahrain - its male/female segregated. It might seem strange for some of us, but if thats the local culture/religion of the Muslim believers, I guess we should respect that…

Thank God Bahrain is open enough, that non-Muslims/foreigners don’t have to abide by these rules!

Took this pic on the way to work yesterday morning.  It just occured to me, I face this s*** everyday driving to work:  A two-lane 7 kilometer road with construction on-going along the way, overtaking trucks driving at excessively slow speeds, and a dirt-gravel road with pot-holes that lasts forever.

God is truly looking over me! Though, did I mention I actually swerved my car at 140kmph one time…. ?

Mate…… my ol buddy that’s travelled through over a dozen countries with me finally gave up. Yes, my old headphones died in the middle of writing a song with my guitar cranked up!

But I quickly got over my overwhelming sense of sadness, and went shopping at Carrefour…… and I got my new pair of SONY MDR-Q55SLs.

Incidentally, I was kinda wishing nice girlfriends were that easy to find too