Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 366

I have to say thank god for my lessons on the subway with Jen in Seoul seeing's I had never been on one in my life before. The one here is much simpler only consisting of 4 lines which I easily got myself to my first destination stop with. Then searching for a hotel that no longer exists got me a little confused, but I got'er all figured out with my ever improving sign language/sherrades (sp) act. By noon I was unpacking in my not so wonderful room and opening up the guide book on what to see. Honestly though people I wouldn't by the Lonely Planet "Korea" book because most of the directions in it suck. First I though I'd take a gander over to the oh so famous fish market. Jagalchi Fish Market ... read more

As we come to the end of an era... here is the final bowel shaking update to our already laxative blog. There's been thrills and spills... mostly spills... to be had by all. We've met and outdrank most of our friends... teachers... associates... and those we didn't know previously... moved house and cooked for ourselves for the first time since our arrival (we actually have cooking equipment now). We've been to the Korean equivelent of a hot spring, been around to various cities, had our graduation ceremony, sucked liquids that many would consider impossible to drink... consumed things which barely passed for food, met an irishman and offended passers by with our mere presence. We wish you all a merry April and hope that soon we'll meet face to face and participate in something more productive ... read more

Well my second major hiking trip here in Korea and I have noticed a few things; 1) the lack of a younger generation of hikers, the group I go with is almost 100 people and the youngest person I’ve seen maybe in their late 30’s early 40’s with the majority of the age group in the 40-50 age bracket, the oldest I’ve seen looks to be in his late 60’s. 2) Koreans are speed hikers, I don’t think they are there for the scenery just how quickly they can get from point A to point B, and they are quick. 3) The total lack of wildlife, except for what few birds I heard, no signs of squirrel cuttings from pinecones, no tracks, nothing. Which made me wonder if any of the people I was hiking with ... read more

The next part of our exciting married life has started - in Korea , and with several BIG changes: 1. We’ve got LOTS of friends (well, compared to Mongolia anyway) 2. We’ve become media superstars 3. We are, at last, WARM! Leaving Mongolia was relatively easy. The final few weeks in UB were spent battling bureaucracy and standing in the frozen streets for hours on end to get an exit visa for Mongolia and a work visa for Korea . Consequently, we never did make it to the Ice Festival at Lake Khuvsgul . Mongolia saw us off in style though…It was minus 43 degrees on the day we left. Despite the cold, we still managed to thaw some tears at the airport with Muugii, our friend who had practically been living in our lounge room ... read more

Friday night. Not too sure what to do with myself. I'm not too worried about it either. It is a nice thing to know you have no obligations. DO whatever you want. Wander around in the dark in Bundang if you please....it's sure as hell safe enough, and the air is beginning to get that welcoming smell of spring. Or burn out on the computer. No, that won't do. That is a waste of a night, isn't it? Oh that's right, I have a cell phone now. If you want to call it a cell phone. More like a piece of junk metal. So glad a blew fifty bucks on that one. OK so the real truth is I love the people here. I dont' know where the social paranoia is coming from. Everyone here is ... read more