One thing that you immediately notice as a Westerner in Korea, in the first few hours in fact, is how homogenous Korea is: there are very few white people. For the first time in my life, I felt very conscious of how my white skin set me aside from others in society, as I walked the streets of Korea. Korea, I remember reading a year ago in the Korean press, is made up of close to 96% Korean and only about 4% non-Korean people. Take a walk around London, England and you will notice how multi-cultural the city is. Seoul is, I understand, the most homogenous capital city in the world – or at least in the developed world.

If we travel abroad from our home country we all become foreigners. As a Korean in England you would be a foreigner and as an Englishman in Korea I became the foreigner. The only thing is, in Korea as a foreigner one becomes far more aware of the fact because of the homogeneity. My experiences were though, very positive, as I first stayed in the area of ‘Miasamgeori’ in Seoul. Children automatically would say ‘hello’ in English and start giggling and people in most situations were almost always very friendly – although sometimes too friendly. A few times on the subway within the first few months, a few people started testing their English out on me, at times when I sometimes did not feel like teaching English out of work. Within ten minutes I would also usually have a business card thrust into my hand without asking.

During the first few months in Seoul, with the Iraq war on (as 2003 approached), I was also conscious that, as a white person, I would be automatically presumed to be American, such is the influence of America on Korean culture and politics. There was the odd negative stare, but it was always from middle or older aged men. Comparing to landing in the U.S. for the first time, such as J.F.K Airport in New York, with the policemen walking around with guns and people twice the size and twice the weight as Koreans, Korea from the first moment felt pretty comfortable to be in. The expected culture shock did not happen, maybe perhaps because I have travelled a lot over the last few years.

No British Please. American preferred

I came to Korea without already having a job set-up, but I knew that English teaching jobs are plentiful in Korea. Searching for an English teaching job in Korea was a strange experience though. In England, English people talk about American English as though it is a bastardised version of the Queen’s English. I have travelled and lived in the U.S.A. extensively and personally I really enjoyed America and I like some of the American English expressions. If you go to America they usually love the English accent. In Europe though, Europeans usually dislike the loud, brash American accent. It was thus a surprise on attending my first interview for an English teaching job and then being rejected, because I was from England. I was told that an American or Canadian accent is preferred. The perfect country I would have expected, to be from if teaching English, was England. Clearly when first arriving in Seoul, I was a virgin in terms of knowing how much of an influence America has been on Korea.

Let me use this opportunity just clear up three things that I was asked literally a hundred times and which even to British people can be confusing.

What is the difference between the U.K., Great Britain and England?

Answer: The U.K. is a country that comprises of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland and England is just England – a territory in the U.K. Confused? Don’t worry about it.

2. How come England, Scotland and Wales all have separate International football (soccer) teams?

Answer: I don’t know. Please can someone tell me the answer by emailing me.

3. How did President Bush in the U.S. manage to get elected 3 times?

Las Vegas shows, entertainment and family fun

Las Vegas,or as it’s otherwise known “Sin City,” is well known as the casino town and it is the city’s main attraction. However, more and more tourists are seeing Las Vegas as more than just a gambling town and the non-gaming revenue for Las Vegas and other casino towns are growing. Casinos invest much of their resources in hospitality – hotel amenities, exciting shows, animal exhibits, extravagant dining, pools, amusement parks and more and many of these things are becoming the main attractions.Not everybody is a gambler and a trip to Vegas offers much more. There are plenty things to do in Las Vegas that doesn’t involve dropping quarters in slots, throwing dice or doubling down.

Best Las Vegas shows

First of all, casinos are just as famous for their entertainment and high-class shows as they are for their gambling. From the standard chorus girls with feathers and fringe dancing around to magic shows, acrobatics and adult shows – Las Vegas has a wide variety. Here are some of the best Las Vegas shows to see. For amazing acrobatics, see Cirque Du Soleil at the MGM Grandor the “O” Cirque du Soleil show at the Bellagio.For music, see Celine Dion at Caesar’s Palace or Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton. There’s “Bite” at the Stratosphere for adult entertainment, Penn & Teller at the Rio Las Vegas for laughs and Lance Burton Master Magician at the Monte Carlo Las Vegas for kid-friendly magic shows. From adults to children and men to women, there is a show for everyone in Las Vegas.

Food/buffets

Casinos in Las Vegas attract some of the culinary world’s top chefs and the city offers a wide variety of fine-dining options. For tourists who don’t live in large cities, Las Vegas offers up a chance to try delicious dishes and exotic cuisines at reasonable prices. And of course, who could forget the famous Las Vegas buffets – just be careful not to eat too much.

Kid fun

Many families with children vacation to Las Vegas and the city has plenty to offer for kid fun. First of all, there is the hotel pools and poolside food and beverage service. Kids can play for hours in the pool and adults can sit poolside chatting, drinking and eating. For adult and kid fun, visit the roller coasters at New York – New York, the Stratosphere Tower and Casino and the Adventuredome, a 5.5-acre indoor amusement park at Circus Circus Casino. Casinos also have extensive arcades and midway games for additional entertainment. There also are animal shows, zoos and aquariums on and off the Strip like the Lion Habit at at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino or the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Shopping

From casino shops and small shopping galleries to mini malls, there is tons of shopping to do, even if it is just window shopping. Consider the Forum Shops or Appain Way Shops at Caesar’s Palace, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, and the Via Bellagio at the Bellagio for casino-close shopping. For designer clothing, visit the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas, for the mall atmosphere visit Boulevard Mall, which is just minutes from the Strip and last for specialty shops and tantalizing restaurants go to the Desert Passage.

Outdoor fun (golf courses)

Need to get out of the always dark and flashy casinos? Las Vegas offers wonderful outdoor activities from great golf courses to balloon riding, horseback riding and hiking. Areas like the Red Rock National Conservation Area and the Grand Canyon National Park are not too far of a drive away. Of course, if you don’t want to wander too far from the Strip, casinos do have outdoor spectacles like the volcano at the Mirage Casino, the fountains at the Bellagioand the pirate battle at Treasure Island.

Spas

You’re on vacation, treat yourself! Head to the newly built Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa for relaxation – it’s only 10 miles from the Strip. Try other spas like the Artisan Hotel and Spa, The Westin Casuarina Hotel, Casino and Spa, JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa and The Platinum Hotel and Spa, to name a few. After all the shopping, show seeing, gambling, golfing and roller coaster and amusement park fun; you’ll need some time to relax.

After only one month in South Korea as a Westerner, things already seemed a mismatch of the ingenuous and the illogical. One minute you will be blown away and pleasantly surprised by something and then, an hour later you will see or experience something which to a Western mind, is peculiar or plain odd. It is probably true to say that as a Westerner, there is no reason to suggest that the Western style of doing things or thinking is the correct way. The observations below are simply my observations according to what I have become used to in the Western world and from my travels.

You walk into an apartment and the first thing you have to do is take your shoes off and after two years in Seoul, I still have this habit wherever I live these days. Tramping around outside with your boots or shoes on and then spreading the dirt inside one’s house surely is not a hygienic way to live, like us Westerns do. The Korean idea of no shoes indoors definitely seems to make a lot of sense to me. Once you get into an apartment, you are quite likely to then also be pleasantly surprised by the delightful way in which the heating works. Under floor heating in Korean apartments seems like a very sensible thing and I missed it a lot when I left Korea. Thirty minutes after putting the heating on, you can usually turn it off and the room will stay warm for hours. Just like the under-soil heating which some English Premier League football clubs use for their football pitches, the heating involves hot water pipes under the floor/soil, which have hot water pumped through them and the heat created rises. In England, central heating with vertical units against one wall now seems so impractical. Heat rises. Surely the Korean style floor heating is a better idea.

The best ideas in Korea are sometimes the simplest. A trip to McDonald’s and you will notice the difference from a Western McDonald’s. If you want take-away food, the staff (server) will tape the top cover of the drink to secure it. It is very simple but effective. In the convenience stores in Korea (often a ‘Seven Eleven’ store as in the United States), unlike in the USA and many other countries, there is a hot water tap and a counter-top in the middle of the store for people who wish to eat the noodles there and then. You can buy a plastic container of noodles and you can eat it there – Plastic fork and spoon also provided – What a great idea. You can even get hot coffee in a can; the coffee kept hot in a small oven type display. The coffee does not taste very much like coffee but it is a good idea. Why these simple ideas are not available in Europe is baffling. I noticed that Koreans also hold their burgers with their wrappers, seemingly as a matter of cleanliness and this always seemed like a good idea. Some fast food restaurants such as in the Subway station in Kangnam, have automatic wet towelette dispensers so that you can wipe your hands before eating: This also seemed to be standard in most Kalbi/Samkyaetang and other restaurants.

Let us not be under any pretensions. Foreigners in Korea can also be a crazy and weird bunch of people as well. I am sure Koreans struggle to understand some of the things that foreigners do in Korea. I can also only begin to imagine what Koreans think when they travel to countries such as the U.S. or the UK and see the strange things that Westerners do. Seeing Western men for example, walking around topless with their beer bellies hanging out, the sun turning their skin bright red in the summer-time. Why would Western men and women place their skin directly in front of the sun for long periods of time and why do the men sometimes walk around with no t-shirt on? Something you would never see in Seoul. Alternatively, why do Westerners walk into their own homes with their shoes on? Surely carrying the dirt and waste from the bottom of your shoes and distributing the dirt throughout the house is not wise.

I was also impressed quite early on, with the ingenuity of Korean people. One young student told me the story of her quest to learn English. She was lucky enough to be able to travel to California, USA and backpack around for a few months. Travelling alone, aged 23 and not really knowing anyone, she started attending the local church on Sundays despite having no real interest in religion. Knowing that people in church are usually quite friendly and open to conversation, she used this opportunity to get free English conversation. Morally it may or may not be right, but it is a creative idea. Another one of my Korean students told me of how whilst travelling the U.S., she naturally said that she was Korean when the subject of nationality came up. But, if she accidentally upset someone or got into an embarrassing situation due to her lack of understanding of Western culture, she would say she was Japanese.

I found Koreans to be very open from the very start. Some Koreans told me you should not talk about certain things i.e. politics, but it was my own personal experience from the start that students often enjoyed and wanted as much as possible, to know the views from a Western perspective. The same students were also often more than willing to share their own thoughts, thoughts that were always interesting and often different to my own. Once people get to know you they are keen to know your opinion on almost anything, including taboo topics such as sex, politics and religion.

Travel Europe on a budget

Traveling to Europe can be expensive and many Asian countries can be overcrowded and expensive. Fortunately there are other great and cheap European vacations out there, so you can travel to Europe on a budget and enjoy everything Asia has to offer.

Malaysia

Compared to the overwhelming nature of many other Asian countries, Malaysia is laidback, relaxing and cheaper. Gorgeous beaches, exotic jungles, colorful temples, delicious cuisine and snorkeling can be yours for as little as $15 to $30 per person per day. Malaysia is also more westernized than other countries and many people speak English, making communication easier. Plus there are tons of attractions in a small area. From the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur to the calming and beautiful Cameron Highlands Hill Station, there is everything from big city attractions to wild jungle adventures.

Morocco

Morocco is located in northern Africa in close proximity to Europe – but couldn’t be more different. Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakesh offer exotic marketplaces and bazaars, ancient and medieval buildings, delicious Moroccan food, camel rides and tons of excitement. Once you’ve had enough of the bustling cities, head for the uncrowded beaches, amazing mountains, cedar forests and old Saharan towns. There are plenty of outdoor activities like trekking, skiing, windsurfing and hiking to do on this cheap exotic vacation. Depending on how many creature comforts you seek, you can get by on anywhere from $30-$80 a day.

Turkey

Turkey is a great vacation in itself, but also a great way to travel Europe on a budget. This nation is located between Europe and Asia and is known world-wide for its amazing sightseeing opportunities and great values. Even though the prices have crept up over the years as tourism has expanded, the country still is a great deal. Turkey has a historic past, with amazing and ancient cities to visit, Roman ruins to explore, mosques and ancient churches to visit, Byzantine art to admire and more. Turkey is also surrounded by four seas, making it a beach paradise with plenty of outdoor activities to keep you busy and resorts for comfort. Although a bit more expensive than the other counties, travelers can get by on about $50 to $100 a day. Hostels start at around $25 a night and hotels a little bit more at about $45.

Prague, Czech Republic

Once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, Prague offers amazing Roman architecture and all night partying – at budget prices. During the day, visit the city’s beautiful buildings, many of which were build more than a millennium ago. For an ancient feel visit Prague Old Town or Prague Lesser Town, two older areas of the city that are less modernized. In the evening, pub hopping and beer drinking seems to be the choice of most. In fact, a half-liter mug of world-famous Czech beer starts at round $0.30, which is often cheaper than a cup of coffee or soda. For food, there is everything from local dishes like dumplings and goulash, to Thai and Russian food and at reasonable prices too. For evening accommodations, hostels will start around $23 a night and a nice hotel room will cost around $50 a night. Prague is a cheap European vacation and a great way to travel Europe on a budget.

Thailand

Thailand is an attractive budget vacation for everyone from families to honeymooners to retirees. With stunning beaches, snorkeling, diving, sailing, hiking, elephant rides, floating fruit markets, inspiring temples, delicious cuisine, ancient kingdoms and historic sites – you’ll have plenty to keep yourself entertained with. Don’t forget about the famous shopping as well – custom tailored handmade suits cost only around $100-$150. Thailand is a country where you can visit on a low budget, spending $20 on a beachfront bungalow or you can splurge on amazing luxury five-star hotels like the Oriental for $200, a budget price in comparison to other countries. Thailand is renowned for its hospitality – so why not splurge?

Having been to Phuket and Krabi so many times, we decided to try something completely different. We spotted this little fishermen village call Bang Bao in the island of Koh Chang. This is also our first time to Koh Chang, much less develop compare with Phuket. Bang Bao is on the south side of the island, about a 45 minutes truck ride due to the multiple hair-pins pathway.

The place is tiny, just a long stretch of wooden deck with dive shops, seafood restaurants, and local housings on either side. It takes probably 5 minutes to walk fromroad end to sea end. There are limited and cheap accomodation for visitors. Since the place is mostly unknown, they don’t take reservation from travel agency. We stay in this place call Bang Bao Sea Hut, which is rather charming. It composed of 12 individual hut that erect from the nearby coast. Each hut is a octagon room, with a semi-opened shower. You can hear the waves coming in as you take shower. We spend 2 nights at this place, and get to know almost everyone in the area.

We went diving with one of the local dive schools at a nearby site. It is very convinient since the boarding deck is just one minute from our sea hut. And the dive sites are within a 30 minutes boat ride. We tried out a couple seafood restaurant at night, nothing outstanding, just your basic thai-style dishes. However, there are so local street food at the road side of Bang Bao. We bought a whole bunch of them (less than 100baht), and bring them back to our hut for a brunch by the ocean.

“Ki Ora! Welcome to New Zealand!” This is often the comment you will get when you step off the plane into one of our international airports at Christchurch, Hamilton or Auckland.

New Zealand is an amazing place to live and a fantastic place to visit. We have lush, green rolling hills surrounding us in many parts of the country but then we also have acres and acres of lush, green flats with flowing rivers all leading out to the Pacific Ocean.

There is so much to do here and no matter what your age, there is something for everyone. Having lived in New Zealand all my life and having traveled around most of the North and South Islands, I can tell you there is no other place in the world I would rather live.

So, what can you do in New Zealand? Well, if you are into hiking and camping, this is going to be like heaven for you. We have some fantastic mountain ranges. The best places to go for hiking and camping are Taupo, which is in the middle of the North Island, Wellington, Christchurch and the west coast of the South Island, where there are some amazing hiking tramps down there.

Not into hiking or camping? Prefer shopping? I have just the place for you! Auckland, our largest city, has got one of the best places for shopping ever! There are so many factory shops and bargains to be had, you will most certainly find something and being a bargain shopper myself, I would recommend checking out “Dressmart” at Onehunga, it is huge and has some of the best shopping to be had! Another fantastic place to shop is the main street of Wellington; catch a cable car to get around. Christchurch has some fantastic shopping malls also.

Ok, so you are over shopping? Want to see all the different attractions New Zealand has to offer? Well, where do I start?! Here is a list of my favourites spots throughout New Zealand, there are many more but these are the ones I love:

- Swimming at 90 mile beach at the top of the North Island. This is just past Kaitia which is about 6 hours drive from central Auckland.

- Fishing off Great Barrier Island. There are some great charters and this is some of the best deep sea fishing you can find.

- Enjoying a good coffee on the waterfront at Mission Bay in Auckland. This is a fantastic place to be during summer.

- Visiting the Auckland Museum for some history about our beautiful country. Learn about the Maori culture and how our country has evolved through the ages.

- Head on down to the Waitomo district and go to the Waitomo caves where you can go white and black water rafting and see the amazing glow worms in the caves. This is a truly surreal experience.

- Visit our national bird, the Kiwi at the Kiwi house in Otorohanga. Get up close and personal with this two legged flight less birds. They are gorgeous.

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Now that even more restrictions have been placed on what can go in carryon luggage, more people are finding it necessary to check their luggage on flights. Unless you plan on purchasing all new toiletries after your plane has landed and abandoning them before you make your return trip, checking your luggage is the only way to make sure you’ve got everything you need on your trip. If you find yourself in the position where you have to check your luggage, here are some tips to make it as smooth as possible.

• Once you’ve purchased your tickets, you’ll want to find out how many pieces of carry on luggage you can take with you and what they can way. Often this can be found on your ticket or the confirmation you’ve received via e-mail or fax. If you can bring two pieces of luggage, somewhere you will see the code 2PC (or 3PC if you can bring 3 pieces of luggage, etc.). You will also see a weight specification in pounds or kilograms. If you can’t find this information on your paperwork, contact your travel agent or the airline, and they should be able to give you the information.
• Stay within the airline’s allowance for baggage. If you are over, one of two things can happen. The airline can deny acceptance of your luggage, or more likely, they will charge you an overage fee when you are checking in.
• Find out the three letter code of the airport that you are flying into. When the handler checks your luggage, make sure the correct code is being put on the tag that gets attached to your luggage. It’s one small way you can help avoid having your luggage lost. Unfortunately, if you have a connecting flight, you can’t check the next code on your luggage, but at least it will at least get to your first stop with you.
• If you do have connecting flights, mention that to the baggage checker. It doesn’t guarantee your luggage will follow you all the way, but at least the checker will be aware of what needs to be done with it.
• Place your contact information on the outside and inside of each bag. Luggage tags are great, but they can get separated from your luggage. If you have your contact information on the inside of your luggage, it will be easier for the airline to match it up to you if the outside tags do get lost. It’s a good idea to do this with bags you plan to carry on also, because you never know when you may be required to check a bag you planned to carry on.
• Put something on the outside of your bag to easily identify it. Some people put colored ribbons on their bags to easily identify them on the baggage carousel. Using an identifier makes it easy to spot your luggage and will help keep others from picking up your luggage by mistake.
• Guard the stubs from your checked luggage. If your luggage is lost, you will need them.
• If your bag doesn’t end up with you, report it immediately. Most bags do eventually get returned and the odds are even better if you report the lost bag(s) as soon as possible.

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