Chris Backe's Blog, page 114

The ultimate guide to HWP files – the mid-2014 edition

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Few things are worsethan a file you can’t open. Even though I’m no longer in Korea, I stillcome across the occasional HWP that needs to be opened or worked with.

(For anyone coming across this post and wondering ‘what’s an HWP?’, it’s a file format for the Hangul Word Processing program. It’s a Microsoft Word-like program that’s extremely common in...

Destination (with VIDEO!): Kosamphi Forest Park – great for banana-eating, camera-stealing monkeys

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Every so often, my wife and Icome across a places that’s well worth the visit because you never know what will happen. Thus we traveled to Kosamphi Forest Park, a decades-old field of trees with thousands of monkeys around. It’s located on 50 acres of shady tree-filled park along the Chi river, and was first established in October of 1976.

The easte...

500 Korean Phrases

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Let’s face it – you have too much to do.

You’re coming to Korea and you want to get around the country without sounding like every other tourist ever.

Maybe that cutie at the bar is Korean, but you don’t know what to say. Let the voice of a native Korean take over – tap the button and see what happens…

You need “500 Korean Sayings”. Find what you want...

Octopus Formality

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Octopus Formality! Declare Shines! Or what about a building called “Jointville”?

These are all real examples of Konglish seen across the South Korean peninsula. Whether you visit the “No. 8 close intimacy consulate” or want to enter the “SkinShowBiz”, these are some of the silliest uses of English seen while traveling Korea for five years. Over 120...

Random pictures: some of Khon Kaen’s temples

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Let’s call this the random pictures collection of some meandering around Buddhist temples:

I love Buddhist temples. I can’t say I understand all the symbolism or religious meaning… and being non-religious means I end up not worrying too much about it.

Khon Kaen has plenty of temples, like most Thai cities, and in recent days I’ve traveled to four of...

Catching up on a quadfecta of book reviews

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After finishing up my review of the Cargo Ship Diaries, I had to hang my head in shame. There were, on my iPad, no fewer than four review copies of books I had received and never posted a review about! My apologies for the delay to those authors. Awesome readers, I hope you discover a book or two you’ll love.

Have you written a travel- or blogging-r...

Random pictures, part 12

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Like other random pictures posts, these are the shots that I couldn’t use in another post. Hope you enjoy!

Who needs scarecrows when you have a gorilla?! Seen in northern Thailand on the way to Mae Salong.

Of all the things to symbolize the victory over communist forces… This isnot what I expected. Seen at the Chinese Martyr’s Memorial Museum in Mae...

7 days in Korea – the weirdest places around

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Spend seven days seeing the weird side of Korea.

If you’re coming to Asia, you’re probably coming because of how different stuff is. Believe me, there are plenty of weird destinations around – but the problem has always been finding them, learning them, and then getting to them.

Mentioned here are seventeen(17) of the most unusual places you’ll find...

Seoul – the 3 day itinerary

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Coming to Korea?

Want to know where to go in Seoul? This guide to Seoul offers a full three-day itinerary – including where to eat, where to see, and where to sleep. There’s plenty more to see in Seoul, though – which is why I’ve also added ideas based on themes. What kind of themes, you ask?

If you want to learn about history:If you want to party li...

Laos: Three days in and around Vientiane

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The best of what Vientiane has to offer.

With plenty of history and culture to go around, Vientiane (also spelled Wiang Chan) offers an excellent introduction to the country. Complete with Siamese and French influences, the Communist party line only mildly affects real life around the country. Between major road improvements and a more focused effor...