One Place to Avoid: Crossing Malaysia/Thailand Border from Malaysia

This story came up in conversation at church two days ago and I thought I would share this crazy experience on my blog. Two years ago my friend Jay Dalton went to Malaysia for vacation. My friend Rick Johnson was living in Subang Jaya (21.5 km south of Kuala Lumpur) and he allowed us to borrow his Malaysian made Perodua car. After hanging out in the southern area for a couple of days and seeing Petronas Tower, we wanted to check out Penang Island.

But before going to Penang, we thought we would be adventurous. We thought we could cross the Malaysia/Thailand border and say that we saw two countries on the trip. Good idea? Well not exactly.

On the way to the border, we saw the nature of Malaysia and had no problems with the smooth highways. The drivers were a bit aggressive, but other than that, it was a comfortable ride to the border and it was green on both sides.

Then we knew we were getting close since Bukit Kayu Hitam. which was one city along the Malaysia/Thailand border.

As we got closer to the border, we got our passports out to show we were just about there!

When we reached the border, entering Thailand was not a problem. But we realized that as soon as we crossed the border, the whole atmosphere changed. The roads became bumpy, there was a lot of construction, and it just looked like a third world country. This was not the Bangkok area of Thailand.  In fact this area of Thailand was only about 2-3 hours away from Myanmar. It was a definitely a lot seedier. We parked our car near the border and thought we would find a Thai restaurant to eat at or do some sightseeing. But we just didn't feel right there. A few people were staring at us and it didn't look like a place where your average tourist would look around.  We did see one Thai Buddhist shrine, so this proves we were in Thailand!

But the general area looked something like the picture below. It was poor, the streets weren't very clean, and definitely not welcoming to tourists.

Therefore we made the decision to leave before it got dark. We turned around and drove for about two minutes back to the border:

As soon as we got there, this one thin, dark-skinned Thai man with a long shot gun approached our car. He tapped the top of the car with the gun. My friend Jay rolled down the window and he seemed surprised when he saw Jay driving the car. Then he saw me and that surprise turned into shock. The first words out of his mouth were "Farang! Farang!" We assumed it meant "foreigner". We later found out that it meant "white person". Jay was stunned by his response and he thought that if we waited, we might be in some big trouble, so he gunned it, came to the booth, paid the money to cross the border, and we escaped.

Jay found out later that they could have possibly interrogated us or asked us for more money, or both. We were pretty happy that we didn't stick around. We laughed once we got into Malaysia and kept imitating his accent. Now, I'm thankful that nothing worse happened!


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Previous Day's Interesting Moments of Teaching

First class: I had one student that woke up at 5:00am for his 7:00am class. Thankfully despite that he was really tired, he still had a great sense of humor. I asked him to make some sentences comparing different activities. His level is high beginner/low intermediate. One of the comparisons was "firing somebody" or "getting fired". Here's the sentence that he created: "Firing somebody is more fun than getting fired because I've never done that and I really want to!" This was an excellent sentence for his level and very funny!

Second class: I had one student who was a Korean man in his late 30s. I was amazed at how much disdain he had for Korea, which was rare to see from a Korean male at his age.  He felt that compared to Japan or European countries, Korea lacked ethics and morals and he just couldn't wait to leave. He said he felt that even though Japanese people might hide their feelings, they're much more polite and kinder to strangers and felt that Koreans were way behind Japan in that area. He said he would travel to Hiroshima, Japan for three months since he's single and then go to Europe, travel, and finally hope to get a job there.

Despite being on a split shift and feeling very tired in the mornings at times, these kinds of situations make me thankful for my job. Teaching elementary and middle school students in the past was a great experience, but much more stressful (especially middle school students).


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

The Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, South Korea

The Garden of Morning Calm

One place to go sightseeing in South Korea that is well-known among Koreans but not very known among people that travel to South Korea is The Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, South Korea. Koreans don't know the English name, so you can click on the link and find the Korean name in case you want to go with some Korean friends or if you want to search for it on Naver or Daum to locate where it is exactly.

Me with my wife trying to keep warm

The garden (translated as arboretum in Korean) is located in one of my favorite regions of South Korea: Gangwondo (Gangwon Province). Specifically, it's in the city of Gapyeong, which is home to Nami Island. Nami Island is a small island that couples like to go to to escape the big city, where the very Korean drama Winter Sonata was filmed at.

The Garden of Morning Calm is home to 5,000 plants, and 300 that come from Baedu Mountain (Baekdusan). Since the garden is open all-year round, you can get beautiful perspectives of the garden depending on the season. My wife and I went during the end of summer and saw different trees where the colors of the leaves were beginning to change. It was really beautiful and I took at least 50 pictures of the scenery.

Then we found out that all of these trees had lights on them during the winter time, so our goal was to come again. Fortunately, we were able to make it back using my wife's brother-in-law's car. We ate dinner at 8:00pm and then headed up to the garden. The parking was free and the GPS worked like a charm. During the winter the garden closes at 9:00pm on weekdays, 11:00pm on Saturdays, and 9:00pm on Sundays until March 26th, 2017. The lights turn on at 5:10pm everyday during the winter. Just beware that it gets cold! I wore a long coat, gloves, and ear muffs, and I was still shivering sometimes. When you take pictures with your phone, there will be times you need to just put your hands in your pockets so your hands don't get frozen. BUT, it was worth it! Since we went later, there were fewer people. I would say between 6:00pm and 8:00pm were the peak hours when a lot of people would be there. Going late actually worked to our advantage. And since my wife's brother-in-law drove us there and back, we didn't have to worry about leaving too early.

Not only will you see trees with lights on them, but you will be amazed at the creativity of displays and how the lights were used. You can see in the pictures below:

My wife is peeking out of the window on the left and her sister and brother-in-law are peeking out of the window on the right

Kids and couples seemed to love this display

The trek out here without a car is a bit difficult if you don't plan accordingly. When we came the last time, so many people were there because it was the end of their summer vacation season. My wife and I thought we could go to Jara Island (Jaraseom) and then go to the garden afterwards.  We took a bus from Dongseoul Bus Terminal to Gapyeong Station, which took about 3 hours. We ate dalkgalbi for lunch and then took a 30-minute walk to Jara Island. There wasn't much going on there, since we found out that it was mainly for camping.  Then we thought that we should check out the garden and tried to get a bus from Jaraseom in order to make our way there. We had a hard time finding a bus, so we ended up taking a taxi instead. It cost us W15,000 due to the heavy traffic.

If we had just picked the garden only, we could have gotten off at the Changpeyong Bus Terminal Station and then taken the 31-7 bus there. The garden closed at 5:00pm and we pretty much stayed until the end. Due to that, we missed the last bus. That cost us another W15,000 won, which is the taxi fare from the garden to Changpyeong Station. If you can take the bus to the garden and the taxi back to the station, then it's not as costly. Or if you get there early, you can take the bus to and from the bus terminal to the garden. Just remember these tips, and you will be fine.

This place amazed me so much during the summer, but even more so in the winter. I don't know how they manage to put all of these lights up every year and then take them all down. It's a lot of work. You can see in the next picture how well lined up each strand of lights are:

Dolphins in the middle of the ocean

Then we got to the main area of the garden. It looked like I was walking through the game of Candy Land or through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The lights were absolutely stunning:

Candy Land?

The Garden of Morning Calm has a cafe, which is a bit expensive but when very useful when you're freezing and you just need a break from the cold. My cafe mocha was W7,000 but they also have traditional Korean drinks and tea. Here's a pic with me, my wife, her sister, and her brother-in-law.

Near the cafe there's a Korean pagoda that is very colorful during the winter. The lake was also frozen over. It was very pretty.

At the end of your journey you'll see a bridge that moves as you walk along it. My wife freaked out when I jumped on it, which was pretty funny. Even the bridge looks attractive with the lights lined up along side of it.

The bridge at the end of the arboretum

If you are wondering about the cost of the arboretum, it's W9,000 on weekends (W7,000 on weekdays) and public holidays for adults. On weekends and public holidays it's W6,500 for teenagers and W5,500 for children. Since it made an appearance on the National Geographic website, I don't think the cost will go down any time soon. But I would definitely go back. It's a peaceful place and very beautiful. It's definitely a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul!


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Sermon: "The Meaning of Life" by Pastor Douglas Park (January 8, 2017)

Genesis 1:26-31

What is the meaning of life? Does every human being have equal value? Does a sick 85-year old woman have the same value as a healthy 20-year old man? We twist the meaning of life by the basis on how people make us happy. We also reverse the roles to wherever we see fit. Do humans have intrinsic value or is it subjective and it only depends on how we "evolved"?

Our value is not based on our pedigree, race, wealth, etc. We are created in the image of God. God said "Let us make man in our own image." This is a good explanation of the Trinity and it also explains how human kind is to represent who God is. Humankind is the sculpture of his image. We are to hold each other accountable and respect each other. But we don't because we follow a fallen standard.

God doesn't need anything from us so why did he create us? To love, know, to enjoy God, to love each other, and to enjoy others. What was the meaning of Jesus's life? See Matthew 22: 34-40.

Love without truth is powerless (Ravi Zacharias). Our goal is not to change someone but to love them. If the meaning of life is to get what you want or when you want it, you'll always be disappointed. However, if it is the love of God and you love others, you'll always be satisfied because you can always choose to do that.

The meaning of life also comes from John 3:16-17. Jesus gave his life so that we can get our lives back. We were not only created by God but we were purchased at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

When we give more value to celebrities based on their looks, we put a faulty price tag on them. Some of us are preoccupied with getting married, getting promoted, etc. We are called to be children of God. Then we can get the most out of life.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Seodaemun Prison and History Hall- Seoul, South Korea

Front of Seodaemun Prison and History Hall

One of the most underrated places in Seoul is the Seodaemun Prison and History Hall. When you walk in on the first floor, you'll get a great history lesson of what led up to the Japanese occupation of Korea in 1910 from Japan's war with Russia to Japan's war with China. Then you'll see how the Japanese occupation began.

Next, you'll see how Seodaemun Prison was made and you can see an interactive model of the prison and each function of the prison. It's really intriguing especially after you get out of the history hall and see the real prison before your eyes. As you make your way around the first floor, you'll come to a room with a lot of pictures and identifications of the thousands of prisoners that occupied Seodaemun Prison. This wasn't there last time. The Korean government made it legal for their pictures to be released. It was pretty sad seeing real faces of innocent victims of people that wanted to fight against the oppression of invaders in their country:

You'll also get familiar with Yoo Gwan Sun, who was a brave woman that was a martyr. She wasn't afraid to express her anger and displeasure of what was happening to her country. Later, you'll see a picture of the women that were put into this prison. There was a separate cell only for women.

Then you'll be led downstairs into the basement where the torture chambers used to be. There were two things that stuck out in my mind most. One is that the Japanese used sharp sticks to insert under the prisoner's fingernails to get them to either pledge their allegiance to Japan or to reveal important information. The other was a special box that people were put into that prisoners could not stand or sit properly. Thinking about how much pain the prisoners had to endure was difficult to ponder and just purely unimaginable. In the following picture, here's a mock interrogation room of Japanese soldiers questioning a prisoner:

You'll notice how cold it is during the winter since the basement is made mostly out of stone. Imagine how it would be without the doors and heating system. It must have been pretty unbearable.

Once you finish up in the basement, this will lead you to the main part of the prison. You'll see the flag of South Korea on one side. They used to have two flags (one on each side), but the other flag was moved and hung on another building.

You'll see the prisoner's exercise facility. Each prisoner was separated by a wall so that they couldn't talk to each other. One guard would stand at the end while the prisoner exercised in his limited amount of space.

Gyeokbekjang Exercise Facility

You'll also be able see the actual prison cells where the prisoners were held. You'll even get a description of many of the people that were held there including pastors, politicians, or just ordinary people that wanted to stand up for their country. Various things are on display: things that they owned, a letter that one prisoner wrote, and a biography of the people that were held captive.

Finally, my wife and I made it to the women's prisoner's cell. This was also sad because there were also pictures of the female prisoners on display.

 The whole experience made me thankful that I had a life of freedom and didn't have to worry about each word I say or each action that I do. I pray for the people in North Korea that go through these kinds of situations on a daily basis. I also pray for those that are going through difficult circumstances in life that they can't control (people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, etc.).

Cost: W3,000
Location: Dongnimmun Station (Line 3), Exit 5.
Length of Time Needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Operating Hours:
From March until October: 9:00am-6:00pm
From November until February: 9:00am-5:30pm


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy