Travel The World

There's an Asian country (NOT the one I'm currently living in) that is obsessed with the rest of the world's perception of it.  Historically, it has taken great pains to secure athletic events and promote its brand to the global community.  Despite these efforts and to its citizens' frustration, the perception of it has probably gotten worse over the years rather than better.  You see, the problem lies with this country using the wrong methodology for improving its image.  Rather than focus on highlighting grand achievements, it should focus on eliminating bad behavior.  This leads to what happened to me the other morning in my $200 a night hotel. I entered the elevator at 0630 to head down for breakfast.  I was wearing a suit/tie and carrying a briefcase which should have indicated I was a person of some import whether true or not and immune to harrassment.  Anyway, the elevator went down one floor stopping to pick up a young married ...

Continuing the theme below, this is the Administration building at NamSeoul University.

Near the town of Seunghwan is NamSeoul University.  I worked there for a year but decided to leave before I became too comfortable. I was worried that having a job with up to five months of paid vacation a year might make me never want to leave!  In the end, it paid off as I acquired my current job in the US which offered me more of a future.  Still, I have good memories of this place. This is a picture of the library building on the campus.

This is just a typical street in the downtown area of Seunghwan, a relatively small town located between Chonan and Pyeungtek.  I lived on the edge of this town while working at Namseoul University.  It's hard enough to find western conveniences in Seoul much less a town in the provinces but I wasn't too far way from the capital and was able to visit frequently.

I lived in South Korea for three years in the '90s and one year in the last decade.  Up to this point though, I haven't posted any pictures from my time there.  I guess that's because I've focused more on my recent travels since starting this blog back in '07.  Anyway, I'll start posting some Korean pics now (in no particular order) while trying to recall the circumstances of each one.  FYI, Korea was the first country I traveled to after finishing university. The picture above is of my apartment building in a small town called Seunghwan which is about two hours south of the capital, Seoul.  I like this one because it shows a rice field sprawled out over a large part of the land.

The top picture is a sitting area along the street in Siem Reap.  The bottom one was my hotel, a converted colonial mansion.

Still trying to post all of these Angkor Wat pictures.  Check out the face on the structure.

Another hidden temple . . .

Another one!

One day, I'll get all these pictures posted!  It would take at least a month to walk through the AW ruins and take it all in at a reasonable pace.

Just another temple the name of which I cannot remember.  Keep in mind the AW complex is many square miles with countless temples.  I don't think I ever knew its name.

More from the temple complex!

Can you imagine living in a house like this suspended on the water?

This is sort of a floating market further out in the lake that all the boats will bring one to.

Heading out to the deeper water in the lake!

Still departing the 'port' when I saw this scene of fruit vendors delivering their produce to the local market. 

After visiting Angkor Wat (for one day which doesn't allow one to see much), I rented a boat in order to cruise "Tonle Sap" lake, the biggest lake in SE Asia.  If memory serves me, this picture shows where I boarded the boat before we headed out for the deeper water.  I will post more pics of the lake soon.

Once again, just adding pictures from trips taken long ago.  This is a continuation of my Angkor Wat series of pics taken on a trip in '05.  At the time, I was residing in Saudi Arabia and had not yet moved to Texas.  I am amazed at how trees overcome stone over the centuries like this one has.

I particularly like the picture of the tree intertwined with the carved rock.  Once again, nature dominates any man-made object.

Here are more pics of various sites around the Angkor Wat complex.