only in Asia

Yesterday's rant wasn't supposed to be left hanging on its own! But since the Darth Blogger is luring me to take the dark side and not letting me post any pictures of fluffy kittens (or hardly any pictures at all), I easily gave in to the bug and before it bugged the boredom out of me quickly reverted to the sabre fights in the digital planes and fields of Nippon.

What I wanted to share with you yesterday is a bit more appealing than the 'life sucks' post and 'I'm a geek' filler. I have many pictures that were taken last year on holiday in South Korea, and they are probably full of clichés about Asia, but I miss the winding streets of Seoul, waterfalls of Seogwipo, tea plantations of Boseong and the rest of Korean randomness.

Randomness - off we go!

 Surprisingly, some parts of the city centre make you feel like you're at the end of Earth in some tiny village - that's if you don't look up at the towering buildings around.

 And then there are streets where probably every tourist took a picture to show to the friends and family - 'hey, I've been to Asia' kind of thing.

On the inside, those tiny Korean houses are full of good food...

 

...and, erm, cozy halogen lighting. It makes eating almost a surgical procedure, but somehow Koreans don't mind.

 Just when you thought that eating more-or-less recognizable foods wasn't Korean enough, there was this fish market with its endless stalls and overactive sales people who tear a poor crab in two just to show you how fresh it is. When one lady pointed at a fish and said: 'Sashimi!' I ran in shame before the fish gets beheaded in front of my eyes. The best sport though is to search for the creature called sea penis - the one who finds it gets...

...a chance to memorize how it's written in Korean, in order to have a good idea what you're dealing with if it ever pops up on the menu.
There's no Asia without the clichés for the European eyes, even though I come from somewhere in between. The part of Russia where I'm from is the best example of small mentality stuck somewhere between West and East, and my trip to Korea made me realize it somehow.
And by the way, I have a tea and bamboo post coming up, so if you thought that I got carried away - it was just the beginning!