During 2023 it was once again time for a World Scout Jamboree, this time in Saemanguem a few hours south of Seoul in South Korea.
I applied in 2022 and got accepted and at a gathering for all Swedish ISTs, I met Jonas E who was part of the same scout troop in Karlsro Scoutkår when I grew up. We teamed up and did some traveling before and after the Jamboree itself.
This is the travelplan I had:
-
One month until takeoff
In just 32 days my journey to South Korea and Asia begins. This first post will kick off the relatively long series of stories that I will tell from my trip to the 25th World Scout Jamboree, Seoul, Singapore, and Jakarta. The plan is to publish a post per day. …
-
Be prepared
In just four days I’m on a plane heading eastwards for South Korea. The “travel jitters” has begun to set in. In an effort to try and calm myself, I spent the Sunday packing and made sure to go through the list I’d made and see that it all fits …
-
Business class, humid heat, football, tired
Today was the day. Finally, time to start the trip towards Asia, South Korea, and the 25th World Scout Jamboree. Even though I don’t have any trouble getting up in the morning if I need to, I’m not really a morning person. 4:45 is way before my preferred time of …
-
War Museum, Seoul Tower, Korean BBQ
It was a long time since I slept this well. As you say hunger is the best spice, I guess exhaustion is the best sleeping pill 🙂 I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the windows and when I looked out it seemed to pour down. I should …
-
The palace and south of the river
Today we walked in the opposite direction than yesterday to find some breakfast. We discovered that we have a Paris Baguette Cafe just around the corner. After a couple of sandwiches and some juice, we stepped into the subway, heading for one of the palaces. Since our finish friend from …
-
DMZ and new friends!
Even though we were gonna have an early morning, I woke up even earlier because of the heat. My AC unit turns off when it reaches its set goal (18 C, the lowest possible). However, according to my thermometer, it’s 26 degrees in my room. So I spent my time …
-
The final full day in Seoul
Since I’m going through clothes rather rapidly in the humid heat and there are laundry machines with free detergent at the hotel, we decided to do a round of laundry this morning. We got down to the second floor, started the machines, and then went out to the Paris Baguette …
-
Travel and funny pictures
Time to leave Seoul! We got up and headed out for breakfast at our “usual” place. Then pack up the last stuff, check out, and head towards the subway and Seoul station. The board for departures only showed the upcoming six trains and since I like to travel with margins, …
-
The day before D-day, everyone is here!
Woke up in our nice apartment and then showered followed by breakfast. Not the best solution for the bathroom because the humidity couldn’t go anywhere and without any shower curtain and the drain under the sink, you got water basically everywhere. We left the apartment and grabbed a taxi just …
-
WARM!
Today was the day to head to the campsite. We woke up, had breakfast, and waited for the buses to arrive at nine. They came at eleven… We went to a welcome center where they checked that we had done Safe From Harm and got our ID badges. We also …
-
More heat, and rain
It was cooler than I expected in the morning. I turned off my fan around 5 in the morning but never needed to pull anything over me. Got up at 6:45 and got prepared for breakfast. A few of us joined in the ten-minute walk to the dining hall. When …
-
Some arrived early, some are postponing.
The rain helped with the temperature so it was only 26 degrees in the tent. Woke up a lot during the night and at six I got up, heading for breakfast. At the dining hall, we met a subcamp chief that lives in the furthest subcamp. If the shuttle bus …
-
Arrival day, #1
Got up at 5:30, leaving for breakfast fifteen minutes later. Some queue but it was alright.Met Sandro in the dining hall, nice to meet him four years later. He has some insight into the Wosm organization so it was interesting to get his perspective. Just got back to my Subcamp …
-
A birthday in different shapes
Almost slept until 7, then the temperature reached 30 and I couldn’t stay in bed 🙂 Got up and went for breakfast, I had asked my team lead to sleep in. I sat at the Swedish CMT flag and spoke to a couple of Swedes working at another Subcamp. I …
-
First day of the normal routine
Since I got in bed at three in the morning and didn’t start my shift until 12 I was trying to stay in bed as long as possible. At seven it got too hot in the inner tent, so I crawled out of it, to the outer tent, bringing my …
-
Soooo, UK is leaving
Yesterday I was fine to volunteer for the morning shift and food distribution, starting at 5. When the alarm went off I wasn’t as eager as the day before. It was a beautiful morning though. Quickly dressed and set off to the food tent. We started about 10 minutes late …
-
Promotion
Today I was working the evening shift so I tried once more to sleep in. At seven it was an unbearable 32 degrees in the tent so I got up, got dressed, and moved over to our resting tent with the beds. Dozed off for some time but it was …
-
It’s so damn hot!
I woke up before 7 with almost 30 degrees in my tent. Tidyd up a bit, put away my laundry, and tried to sweep the sand out of the tent. There is literally sand everywhere. The problem is that it increases friction and creates blisters when it gets into your …
-
Constant change
Got up and went to the dining hall to get breakfast. Spoke with a couple of Swedes, interesting to hear their stories from the Jamboree. Had some trouble finding a working adult male toilet with paper, a continuing issue at this camp. Before lunch, our Deputy chief got the message …
-
Departure
The alarm went off at 4 and I got up quickly so I shouldn’t fall asleep again. Took a few minutes before my colleagues joined me and we started to tear down our office. I took it upon myself to start delivering big bags to the units for storing tents …
-
Mud festival
My alarm was set to 7:30 but Jonas got up a bit earlier. Another shower and then head down to breakfast. They told us that we had to be there at 8. During the breakfast, which contained a BLT sandwich from Subway and a juice box, we got informed that …
-
There are slow days, and there are slow days
Breakfast was served between 7:30 and 8:30, so we got up to get some. I was still really tired and would have preferred to sleep for a couple of hours more, but on the other hand, I was quite hungry and probably needed the food. However, I have a hard …
-
The end, of WSJ23
Early morning is relative but this one felt like it. Got up at 7 to pack the last stuff and then breakfast. Still not used to the Korean breakfast. Said thanks and goodbye to our IST support Henrik and Jacob who, with colleagues, have helped us through this historical Jamboree. …
-
Navigation is heard and Seoul is great with signs
I woke up at 10:30. I slept really well, except I couldn’t get the AC working so it was 26 degrees in my room in the morning, just like the tent. Got down to the reception and via Google Translate she told me I had to use the TV remote …
-
Good bye Seoul!
So I slept even better this night thanks to the AC being turned on, that helped a lot 🙂 When I woke up Jonas had already messaged me that he was going to meet the others somewhere at 10:30 so we would be leaving the hotel separately. Packed up the …
-
Hellooooo Singapore!!
I slept terribly last night. Probably to some extent because of realizing last night that my bags are around 2 kilos too heavy. And the same for my carry-on luggage. This after I’ve thrown away like my rubber boots, some clothes, and other stuff. Kept thinking of ways to get …
-
Singapore is also hot
I slept really well this night. Woke up around 9:30, got myself ready, and left for a mall, looking for a charger for my Pixel Watch and maybe someone who can repair the screen on my phone. Some googling yesterday told me that Funan should have a lot of electronic …
-
We being tourists
The annual meeting I attended last night ended at four in the morning. However, I slept really well in the dark room and woke up at 11. The doors aren’t that thick so I heard a vacuum cleaner at 8 (I think) but thankfully I could fall back to sleep. …
-
Sentosa Island and Long Bar
I woke up just before the alarm at 9 and my plan was to check out the electronics store from yesterday if they had a charger for my watch, before Jonas got up. But the comfy bed and a game on my phone kept me a bit too long. I …
-
Last full day in Singapore
We took the morning off and left the hotel at around 11:15 to have breakfast at our favorite place (the third time now) just across the street. When we were about to leave the rain started pouring. We went to look for another way down to the subway, on our …
-
Goodbye Singapore, and thank you Jonas!
I set the alarm at 8 so I would have enough time to pack. As usual, I had too much time set aside so I was done when the clock hit 9. I took a shower, checked out, and then went out to find myself a mug, the souvenir I …
-
Slow first day in Jakarta
Took a really slow morning and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It was a decent breakfast, with both international stuff (bread, waffles, cornflakes) and some local dishes I didn’t dare to try today. I will probably eat there every morning this week. I decided to go to Grand Indonesia, …
-
How hard can it be to find a mug?
Started off with breakfast and then got into a cab. The number plate was a bit funny, B 2575 BIL, as BIL is car in Swedish 🙂 Last night I googled “downtown Jakarta” and someone suggested the business district called Sudirman. So I found a mall in that area and …
-
Indonesian cinema has one up on Sweden
Really slow morning with breakfast and then heading down to the pool. Got some sunshine every now and then, alternating between hanging in the pool and on the sunbed. Two kids with one or two parents also took a bath at the same time, it’s fun to see kids playing …
-
Swimming in the Java Sea
Today was the earliest day for a week or two. Alarm went off at six so I could get breakfast before getting picked up at seven. Isabel met me in the lobby just before the agreed time and she informed me how the day should proceed while were waiting for …
-
Kota Tua
I woke up a bit sore from yesterday actually. I had my breakfast and asked the receptionist where I should go if I wanted to visit Kota Tua, the old town. He didn’t really understand my question, I first wanted a spot or address where I could direct the cab …
-
Last day in Jakarta, and Asia
Just breakfast, TV shows in the room, packing, and some pool time until it was time to leave for tonight’s entertainment, the Skye Restaurant on the 56th floor of the Grand Indonesia East Mall. I didn’t even eat lunch. When I arrived at the mall, I first went looking for …
-
Thank you, Asia!
So, the day was finally here, the end of my five-week trip to Asia. Got up a bit earlier to have time for a shower, to eat breakfast, and adjust anything in my bags if needed. When I got down to the restaurant it was full, so they wrote down …