I have a lot to say, it was quite a lot to take in. Absolutely worth it.
If you are new to traveling, I would say Seoul is a good place to start in East Asia because it felt very Westernized compared to Taipei and Tokyo. I saw just as many French style cafes and restaurants putting cheese on everything as I did for the more traditional Korean food. I had the best breakfast sandwich of my life at a chain called Isaac. If you visit SK, please eat there. I spent five days there and that was enough for the city, but you could go further out to other cities like Busan and extend the trip. unfortunately, tours at the DMZ are not allowed at the moment, don't know why but I guess that's fine. Venturing in the countryside/DMZ puts you at higher risk for malaria vectors.
Tokyo is much more forgiving than even recent years because they are building the city for the Olympics and have encouraged more english signage and credit card transactions (although many places still operate under cash only).
But it still helps tremendously to understand common Japanese words or have google translate handy. Osaka was boring. Kyoto was fun for a day, and is great for day trips to neighboring areas (hiroshima, nara, etc).
Japanese baseball is a blast and you should experience it at least once. I could do a whole write up if you are interested. I spent about 16 days in Japan and I feel like I will need another two weeks in a future trip to see the rest.
In Tokyo I got severe food poisoning and ended up having simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea for 12 hours, followed by 24 hours of extreme fatigue. All I can say is don't eat the food at the Tokyo Skytree.
Not in Korea. But I did a little bit north of Mount Fuji. Tried to focus on hitting up more cities for my first time. Also, being in the countryside meant (per CDC recommendations) I had to bring malaria pills and get an expensive vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis. I didn't do either, so I limited my exposure.
I will say however, that while the cities are crowded, there are tons of side allys and streets where it can be very sparse and quiet. Felt almost like suburbs except all the buildings are 3+ stories tall.
Hmm, I've never thought about health recommendations when in rural areas of the United States.
You might like the Youtube channel Asian Boss, which is mostly street interviews with young people in Korea, Japan, China, Philippines, India, and others. I see it as an alternative to actually traveling!
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I read this restaurateur's blog series on why tipping should be abolished or even banned: the psychology and economics of tipping in the hospitality industry, especially restaurants.
This was one of those reads. You know what I mean, an affecting Good Read.
Reading be like:
Unfortunately, the No-Tip model has not taken off in the past decade - not necessarily because its promise failed but because a huge proportion of customers turn out to be viscerally repulsed by the perception of loss of control over waiters. Also, high-earning waiters lose money (and quit) if their chance at tip earnings is cut off for more equalized wages with the whole staff. :/
The People have lost my confidence, throw them out and elect a new People!
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
@ACIN Please take your time.
Last edited by Montmorency; 07-26-2019 at 05:46.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I LIVE!!!!
Hammer, anvil, forge and fire, chase away The Hoofed Liar. Roof and doorway, block and beam, chase The Trickster from our dreams.Vigilance is our shield, that protects us from our squalid past. Knowledge is our weapon, with which we carve a path to an enlightened future.
Everything you need to know about Kadagar_AV:
I may have never thought of inserting or removing hangers from buttoned shirts from the bottom before today.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/...mation/498965/In the immediate term, Medzhitov’s takeaway is to follow our cravings when we’re sick, because they may reflect evolutionary mechanisms that evolved to be protective: “So, for example, when you have the flu, you kind of feel like having some tea and honey. That may be the body’s way of telling us that we need some glucose. I suspect we have these mechanisms that tell us what we prefer to eat (or not to eat) when we’re sick. Those are the mechanisms we should probably listen to.”
Interesting..
I'll eat that chocolate.
Runes for good luck:
[1 - exp(i*2π)]^-1
"Sleepers get stupefied"? That's the original English? Definitely makes no sense.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Can't wait for the December cinnamon tea while outside it's 0 degrees.
Answered a question from an Asian tourist today. Wish me luck.
Runes for good luck:
[1 - exp(i*2π)]^-1
It's 2020. A hundred years ago was 1920. Everyone who grew up prior to WW2, who had a full experience of the 1930s, is pretty much a centenarian by now.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
"The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.” -- Milton Friedman
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." -- H. L. Mencken
Days since the Apocalypse began
"We are living in space-age times but there's too many of us thinking with stone-age minds" | How to spot a Humanist
"Men of Quality do not fear Equality." | "Belief doesn't change facts. Facts, if you are reasonable, should change your beliefs."
I have actually read of some 20th century ACW marriages arranged in order to keep the pension coming to the family. As Franklin said...
"There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government."
"The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.” -- Milton Friedman
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." -- H. L. Mencken
Last edited by Montmorency; 03-17-2020 at 23:05.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Right about now is where one of those cryo sleep chambers as seen in Interstellar/The Martian/Passengers would be handy.
You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long. -Boris Yeltsin
мыслете наш он покой
Saw this a little while ago:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52350082
Negative oil prices? Negative oil prices??
I suppose it might be a bit much to ask that the gas station pays me to fill up my tank...The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel.
High Plains Drifter
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/e...e-an-explainer
Maybe we can chip in to rent a hundred acres of land in Wyoming, a lot of tarpaulin, and call it the Org Strategic Oil Reserve?
Edit: I figure, what, 250000 barrels should be a good start. Figure out a way to time these things so that the millions credited from accepting those barrels will offset the land, shipping, brokerage, and other costs.
Last edited by Montmorency; 04-21-2020 at 21:23.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Or....we could've bought an oil tanker for $17 million US, renamed it The ORG, and been PAID $41 million to take delivery of just over a million barrels of Texas light, sweet crude.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5...gejn&site=vice
Damn! There probably would've been enough money to hire a crew and rent a dock in New York harbor somewhere, yes?If you were very smart and perceptive, and bought in at the market’s lowest point yesterday ($-37.63), you would have been paid $40,969,323.83 to take the oil. That means you would have made enough to have bought the tanker and would have had roughly $24 million left over to figure out the logistics of getting all of the oil from Oklahoma onto the boat. Unfortunately we did not do this, and neither did you, and the moment has passed.
High Plains Drifter
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I accidentally bought an $80 e-book series on Amazon kindle because I tapped "order now with 1-click" when I was trying to scroll down on my smartphone. I was able to get a refund, but I found out that Amazon won't let you disable 1-click ordering, which is bull crap. I wouldn't be surprised if they did that on purpose to take advantage of people.
11.000 posts.
Quite a long list.
Ja mata, TosaInu. You will forever be remembered.
Proud
Been to:
Swords Made of Letters - 1938. The war is looming in France - and Alexandre Reythier does not have much time left to protect his country. A novel set before the war.
A Painted Shield of Honour - 1313. Templar Knights in France are in grave danger. Can they be saved?
Its a long yet rewarding road! Or so I tell myself.
On the Path to the Streets of Gold: a Suebi AAR
Visited:
Hvil i fred HoreToreA man who casts no shadow has no soul.
foul fowl foul fowl foul foul foul fowl in Buffalo
Good morning.
Vitiate Man.
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
...are you ok
On the Path to the Streets of Gold: a Suebi AAR
Visited:
Hvil i fred HoreToreA man who casts no shadow has no soul.
Water buffaloes?
Ja mata, TosaInu. You will forever be remembered.
Proud
Been to:
Swords Made of Letters - 1938. The war is looming in France - and Alexandre Reythier does not have much time left to protect his country. A novel set before the war.
A Painted Shield of Honour - 1313. Templar Knights in France are in grave danger. Can they be saved?
Maybe he's referring to this?
https://books.google.com/books?id=oM...B41R0tCjMxraCW
High Plains Drifter
How in the world did you manage to find that? 1904 review of the Buffalo City council, wow.
Ja mata, TosaInu. You will forever be remembered.
Proud
Been to:
Swords Made of Letters - 1938. The war is looming in France - and Alexandre Reythier does not have much time left to protect his country. A novel set before the war.
A Painted Shield of Honour - 1313. Templar Knights in France are in grave danger. Can they be saved?
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