Diane_Jacob Profile
Diane Jacob
Join Date:
2011-10-04
My Social profiles
Blogs Owned
1. Taking Detours
Life is about the journey, not the destination. Another wanderer adding her footprints to the world.
Latest Blog Posts
- Taking Detours: Barry from England!I love it when people come to visit me. Part of what I enjoy about travel so much is sharing the experience, and since I know a thing or two about South Korea after being here for over 2.5 years, I quite enjoy giving my friends a guided tour. Two w...
- Korean BarbecueGalbi, samgyeopsal, moksal — there are so many types of Korean barbecue out there and it can be a little overwhelming for a non-Korean to try to distinguish one from another. If you’re not a foodie, anyway. To tell the truth, each cut...
- End of Contract: E-2 to D-10So delayed! Well, you might have guessed, but I have in fact picked up a new teaching contract here in South Korea. I was never all that great at operating chronologically, but it has occurred to me that I probably ought to write about how I was ab...
- Korean Detour: Boryeong Mud FestivalIn 2.5 years of living in South Korea, there’s hardly anything that stands out in my memory half as much as the Boryeong Mud Festival. This year’s trip was my third time at the festival, and it was just as fun as my other trips —...
- Vietnam Detour: Wrap-upWhen will I be done with Vietnam? Goodness. Well, I’ve been quite busy — I returned to South Korea over a month ago, and while the first month enabled me to get a lot of the trip logged, my second has been taken up by the new job. I h...
- Vietnam Detour: SapaFinally wrapping up my Vietnam detour, I took a few days to travel up to Sapa. It was a somewhat spontaneous decision — I had entertained the thought making the trip, but due to the ever present money issues, I would also have been content to...
- Detours on Tap: Friendships on the RoadSo my best friend is currently in the bathroom, worshiping the porcelain god. I promised that I would write another one of these entries while intoxicated, in the meanwhile — so here I am. My world is totally spinning. Ok. So. It’...
- Visual Detours: Boracay Islands, Philippines 2011Here’s another treat — my brother put together a video of his trip to Boracay, Philippines last year. I’m personally a bit jealous! He went ahead of me to celebrate his girlfriend’s sister’s 20th birthday, so the first...
- Vietnam Detour: Ha Long BayHa Long Bay. Now, don’t get me wrong — it’s beautiful. Just, from a distance. As I mentioned in my post about Hanoi, it seems like it’s frequently foggy on this side of Vietnam — and the day we set off for Ha Long Ba...
- Detours on Tap: Opening NightSo. Writing these blog entries are NO joke! It’s been a learning experience, and now I know that next time I’m on the road, I need 100x more pictures and 100x more notes about my activities. As it is, it’s been a painstaking pro...
- Dongdaemun PreviewComing soon: Dongdaemun Walk...
- Korean Accommodations – Love MotelsLike any destination, Korea has the standard variety of accommodations, ranging from backpacker hostels to four star hotels. However, somewhat unique are the love motels that can be rented by the hour or overnight. It really isn’t as sketchy as...
- Seoul Street FoodI used to live in NYC so I’m no stranger to street cart vendors — quick, convenient and best of all cheap. Seoul has its fair share — hawking various flavors ranging from sweet 호떡 (hodduk) to spicy 떡뽁이 (ddeokbboki). Or...
- Language Barriers and New Passportson Dec 21, 2011 in Ex-Pat Life Problems/Issues Seoul South Korea Travel Embassy Immigration Passport Police Reports Travel Issues VisaSo, one of the more problematic things to happen while you’re abroad is to lose your passport. It’s not the end of the world — though admittedly if I were on the move instead of living here, it would be quite a bit more nerve-wracki...
- Trip Planning: LaosThe second leg of my trip will be spent in Laos, or as it’s officially called — the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. I haven’t really heard much about this country, and it got tacked onto my trip because it linked Vietnam a...
- Stretching my Travel BudgetAlright, this is a big one. When my contract ends at the end of February 2012, that’s it. From today, I have about three months remaining, and no — I have no idea what I’m going to do next. I have no idea what my next source of...
- Trip Preparation: Looking for a BackpackOne of the most important items for a traveler is the bag that will hold all of the belongings to be brought along for the ride. Since my longest trip so far has lasted maybe two weeks, I’ve relied on a small rolling bag that is within car...
- Detour Review: Red Mango & Cacao GreenYou probably won’t believe me, but I never thought I had that much of a sweet tooth. I hardly snack and the candies that my students occasionally gift me often pile up in my desk or purse, whichever is closest for me to tuck them away in. The...
- Trip Planning: Vietnamon Dec 3, 2011 in Asia Travel Vietnam Da Nang Hanoi Ho Chi Minh Hoi An Planning Southeast Asia 2012 travelVietnam is the first country on my tour, starting South in Ho Chi Minh City and ending up North in Hanoi. I will be traveling on my own, the first of such trips since my solo vacation to Bali, Indonesia last year. Of course, this trip is on a muc...
- Trip Planning: Vietnam, Laos and Thailand OverviewMy teaching contract with EPIK is over at the end of February and as I will not be renewing, I figured that I ought to take the opportunity to really travel. As in, at least a month long journey. I have done shorter voyages. One week, two weeks &...
