6th Oct: Up far too early. I made my way to Seoul and onto the bus to take us to Andong. The bus journey was about 3 and half hours, not too bad. We stopped a couple of times on the way. We arrived at Hahoe Village around 12. We got off our coach and onto the regular shuttle buses that take you from the park's entrance to the main village. We took a five minute walk and then we arrived at our accomodation for the night. Hahoe Village is an old style Korean folk village, however it differs from other folk villages in that people actually live there, so it isn't just for show. It's all preserved in the old style. The only spoiling factor is the sky dishes attached to the houses and the ... read more

Well this blog isn't really about travelling, but it is about experiencing culture through food. Something I really enjoy. I love Korean food, but didn't really know where to start when it came to trying to cook it myself, so I signed up for a nine week cookery class. The course I took was run by the Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine. the course took place in their istitute in near Anguk station in Seoul, right next to Changdeokgung Palace. The building is a traditional Hanok, set around a courtyard, it's so pretty. The Institute of Korena Royal Cuisine researches and passes on the Royal Cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty, which is a nationally designated important intangible property. Each week we had a different teacher, who would teach us the dishes, the teachers seemed to teach ... read more

Alarm went off at 8 am. Why did I think it was a good idea to go out drinking until 5 via KFC? Oh well. Right, time to pack and clean my apartment. On the airport bus by 11. Got checked in and had a hot bagel and coffee to sober me up. Witnessed a woman beating up her husband / boyfriend in the deprture area. Gave me a good chuckle. Flight was traumatic. Asiana, why do employ kamikaze pilots? Got a grilling off the customs guy due to the size of my very large case for a three day holiday. Got the metro fine and arrived at the hostel without getting lost due to the fantastic directions with pictures and arrows the hostel provided. Thank you Khaosan Original! 4th May: After a lovely long lie-in ... read more

9th Mar: Holiday time again! Since the Icelandic banks had recently collapsed, now was supposed to be the best time to visit Iceland. So I found some flights on the internet with the budget airline Iceland Express leaving form Stanstead, got fairly priced (for England!) train tickets. My mate, Michelle was coming a long, too. The hostels I found online was expensive, over twenty quid for a dorm room and very far from the centre of Reykjavik. I then found a complete steal on some random website, a twin room in a hotel, still not city centre, but closer than the hostel, for about 25 quid a night between us, including breakfast. A complete bargain, though I was dubious about the website as it seemed too good to be true, but I still booked it. Train ... read more