Stephy and Kelly Do Korea!

Last Night @ U2

2006-09-23T13:20:00.000+09:00

Sept 23rd- As promised we headed out Saturday night to our famous U2 bar to watch the band and have our last party night in Korea. We definatly went out with a bang, the tequilla shots were flowing, Jager came out the play, there was some shoe throwing, bailing on the dance floor as well as the stairs on the way home, even the markers came out!! Good Times!

Our Boss' Son's 1st Bday

2006-09-21T08:48:00.000+09:00

Sept 21st- Happy 1st Birthday! Rachel (our boss) invited us to her son's first birthday party. We met them at a Chinese restaurant where they had a private room. The whole family was looking good, all dressed in hanbok's (the traditional korean clothing). The food just kept on coming, 8 courses. We even tried shark fin and drank award winning Chinese beer at a lazy suzan style table. We played with the kids and watched as they attempted to figure out what their son is going to be when he grows up. On the table they had a golf ball, a microphone, a pencil, a computer mouse and various other objects representative of professions and which ever one the baby picked first is what he will be. First pick was a microphone, so looks like he is going to be an entertainer!!!

Full to the brim we headed town for a stroll near Haeundae beach when we ran into Jimmy ( The owner of U2 bar - a bar we used to frequent). He was upset that we hadn't been there in ages and urged us to go in for a drink. We caught up with Angela (his wife) and June ( the dj). It was a nice little trip down memory lane. We saw our "Canadian Girls Drinking Team" signatures on the wall, our "We Love U2" Canadian Flag and also found tons of pictures of us all over the walls of the bar. So many great memories! We also promised to return saturday night to watch the band and have one last party night at our old watering hole!

Korean Baseball Game

2006-09-10T08:41:00.000+09:00

Sept 10 - It was a perfect Sunday for a baseball game. Steph, Erik and Kel headed out to the stadium to catch the Lotte Giants ( the Busan team) game. They sucked pretty bad but it was a fun afternoon.

Oryukdo Islets

2006-09-02T22:22:00.000+09:00

Sept 2: Another hot day in Busan, Erik & Stef hopped on the Busan Maritime Boat Tour boat bound for Oryukdo Islets. There were tons of drunk Koreans aboard - mind you it was 4 in the afternoon - but it made for a really interesting ride. The seas were rough, but we made it after 30 min to the islets.

Oryukdo Island is attached to the southern part of Busan, and depending on the day and the tide, may appear to be five islands or six islands, hence the name. Designated a Monument of Busan, Oryukdo Island is a rock island that can be said to be made purely of stones. Of all the five islands branching out from the mainland, all of them, except the one with the lighthouse, are uninhabited. It is composed of Usakdo Island, Surido Island, Gonggotdo Island, Guldo Island and Deungdaedo (Lighthouse) Island, but because the lower part of Usakdo are divided into two segments that appear as two islands, sometimes Usakdo Island is known as Bangpaedo Island and Sol Island as well, depending on the level of the water. The name of the Usakdo Island comes from this phenomenon as well. Because many ships that come to Busan pass by Oryukdo Island, it is a symbol of Busan as well.

We had many Koreans attempt ot speak to us and Erik even made a couple new girlfriends! A sunburn and a bit of sea-sickness later we landed on shore safe and sound :)

Starface

2006-09-02T14:20:00.000+09:00

Sept 2nd- It was Saturday night, some people from Jinju were in Busan and so we decided to head out for a night on the town. We got dressed up and headed to Starface. 15$ all-you-can drink made for one hilarious night... And like all good nights in Korea we ended up singing all night at nori-bong! Good Times!

GUAM is DONE!

2006-09-02T01:24:00.000+09:00

Hi Everyone!
The long awaited, long anticipated Guam blog is finally posted, so scroll down and check it out! Also stay tuned for Jeju Island..coming really soon! Love Kel and Steph xoxo

Mark's Last Night!

2006-08-31T22:38:00.000+09:00

Aug 31: Mark finished his contract at the end of the month so we celebrated by enjoying delicious Korean cuisine and downing some Bamboo soju and pub eats! We are sad to see him go but wish him luck in Toronto!

Otis in Korea

2006-08-27T08:06:00.000+09:00

August 25th - There was some talk of Otis coming to Korea to teach a few months back, then to our surprise one day he sent an e-mail saying he would arrive friday night, much sooner than he had expected. Anyways his apartment wouldnt be ready until monday so he was going to crash here. Steph was in Jinju for the weekend so I felt it was my duty to give Otis a traditional firt night in Korea which obviously involves getting a little loopy on Korea's finest alcohol..good old soju! Everyone that comes to teach to Korea has a great story about their first night adventures with the traditional alcohol.

After some cathching up and a few duty free beverages, we headed to the upside-down tea pot place for some traditional Korean rice wine (Mackaley). There we met a really funny Korean guy and I made Otis try some bugs (a popular side dish in Korea). EWWWWW....

We walked along Haeundae beach on our way to our next stop, which was to the site of our first nights debauchary "Minami" a Japanese Pub. We had some great bamboo soju (tastes like apple juice) and a little sushi. Things got messy I ended up leaving the pub with some red rubber boots, then we headed down to the beach to the beer tents. We did "love shots" (cross your arms and chug your drink) with a big group of Koreans and partyed with night away Korean style. I even did a few jigs in my new rubber boots! Good times!

August 26th - After some pancakes, we (Kel & Otis) headed to nampo-dong for a little shopping and to give Otis more of a taste of Korea. We had sushi for lunch and eventually headed back home to make some plans for round 2.
We decided to meet the girls and their boss in Gwangali at nori bong. We walked the beach on the way and admired the Gwangali bridge all lit up. At the noribong (Kareoke), the soju was flowing and the singing got wild. We danced on the tables, sang our brains out and at around 4am Ash, Gill, Otis and I decided to shut er' down with some pizza. Another great night in our wonderful city!

August 27th - We decided a movie day was definatly well needed after the gong show of a weekend. So we relaxed, had some Korean food and discussed Otis' upcoming adventures in Korea. A great first weekend..Welcome to Korea Otis!!!

Visit with Mr.Khang

2006-08-26T09:25:00.000+09:00

August 26: An early morning call from Erik's adult student left us (Erik & Stef) traveling to Jirisan Mountain to see the mountain itself and all its nearby sights. Mr. Khang and his son picked us up and we drove out to the beautiful countryside.

Upon entering Jirisan, we stopped at a historical site called the Institute of Nam Myung Studies. It was here that he established a peculiar doctrine (moral purifty) and Eui (right conduct). He was claimed as the Great Master by contemporary scholars. He contributed to fomenting the Sil-hak (Practical Sciences) in the late Chosun era. He is remembered as the most successful educator who has given birth to a large number of outstanding scholars and politicians in Korean history.

Our next stop was an ever-exciting water museum that Mr. Khang really wanted to show us - so how could we deny him?! We pushed a bunch of buttons and saw the force of water flowing through the mountain and then left (quickly). We then headed up to Daewonsa and Naewonsa temples.

Daewon Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Korea. Legend says it built by Adohwasang; a monk who lived during the Silla Dynasty. This grand and splendid sight is distinctive because of two Buddha statues. One statue is expressing the candor in the precints of the temple and the other expresses the anxiety of parent in the gate of the temple. Daewon Temple is the temple in Chenbong Mountain.

We stopped for some Korean lunch at Mr. Khang's favorite restaurant and enjoyed tons of Korean specialities as well as some expensive Soju! It was flour soju and in Korean tradition if you buy it, you drink it! Mr. Khang wasn't drinking because he was driving and his son was too young to drink so that left Erik and I to polish off this bottle. Needless to say, I was feeling it but tried my best to keep it PG!

We tried to walk it off at Naewon-sa. This temple is well-known as a temple for Buddhist nuns. Burnt down during the Korean War, it was reconstructed in 1958 by the monk Suok. The valley leading to the temple is deep and beautiful, with a cool stream flowing through it. This is a female only temple with a gorgeous backdrop of mountains!

After the two temples we headed up the mountain by car as far as we could get. We passed Mr. Khang's grandmother's house and a little apple farm. On the way back down Mr. Khang stopped and bought us some fresh apples which were apple-licious! We then stopped in at his brother and sister-in-laws house, which was situated in the valley. We had some grapes and juice before heading out back to Jinju. As we were exiting the mountain area Mr. Khang stopped to buy us some Persimmon. This is a fruit whose color ranges from light yellow to dark red and is rich in glucose and protein for both medicinal and chemical needs. I tried one...and it wasn't too bad....basically tasted like a really sweet apricot. We headed back and were so appreciative of all his kindness!

Jeju Island

2006-08-19T12:08:00.000+09:00

August 19th- Steph & Kel got up bright and early to catch a quick 40 minute flight to Korea's Honeymoon Island Jeju-do. Jeju is the largest island in Korea and the only special self-governing province. Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Halla-san: a volcano 1,950 metres high and the highest mountain in South Korea. The island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, and consists chiefly of basalt and lava.

These dolhareuban stone statues (pic on the right), are unique to and the symbol of Jeju, are also called Useokmok, Museokmok, or Beoksumeori. There were originally places at the entrance to fortresses on Jeju, playing the role of guardians. At present, there are 45 true dolhareubangs on Jeju Island -- and thousands of miniature copies available for purchase by tourists. The stone statue is commonly adorned with a helmet-style hat with bulging eyes, a fat nose, clenched lips and two hands on the upper and lower part of the belly. Most of the original dolhareubang are estimated to have been made in 1754!

Arriving in Jeju felt like we escaped Korea. There were palm trees everywhere and a warm breeze off the water. We found the parking lot area where we picked up our rental car for the weekend. It was a little Hyundai white four-door which we named Whitey-McTrash. It was an appropriate name since we absolutely trashed the car by the end of the weekend and it also made a burning smell when putting on the brakes going downhill - oh, and not to mention the squeaky brakes. We are surprised we made it out alive!

Not knowing anything about the island - including how to drive around it - Steph got out the maps and attempted to navigate ourselves out of the airport area. After circling a few times (oops!) we made it out and onto the coastal road that goes around the entire island. We startd to drive around Jeju City which is the main gateway to the island.

At the western end of Jeju City, where the Hanch'on stream runs into the ocean, is a large rock formation shaped like a dragon's head. It's called Yongduam Rock (Dragon's Head). Legend states that the Dragon King's messenger was sent to Halla Mountain to gather bulloch'o (an herb reputed to give eternal life). The messenger was killed by an arrow from an angry mountain god. Part of the messenger's body sank into the water while the head remained above the water, trying to return to the sky. On windy days, the waves crashing against the rocks suggest the fury of the dragon.

After posing for some pics with random tourists, we headed down the road to Gwandeokjeong & Mok Office. This complex combines two of Jeju's most interesting buildings. The open-sided 15th century pavillion is the oldest building of its type on the island and a national treasure. It was used for receiving official visitors and to host official banquets. The Mok office was the island's administrative centre under the Joseon dynasty.

After squeezing ourselves out of a very small parking space, we attempted to find another tourist spot. Funny enough, having a car makes traveling much easier and we became a little lazy as we passed some fortresses and casually took photos from the car rather than actually going to see it. Either way, we did get out of the car for the Samseonghyeol Shrine which is Jeju's most important shrine. It occupies a large tract, the centre of which is a hole in the ground. The legend calls that this hole is the birthplace of Jeju. It is said that three demigods rose from the earth, bringing with them seeds and hunting implements, and went on to populate the entire island (with help of maidens who showed up on shore, obviously).

We then went a bit outside of Jeju city to the famous Tamla Mok Sok Won which is a park of naturally sculptured collections of rock, trees and roots. The wood formation are the roots of Jorok trees which around found on Mt. Halla of Jeju at an altitude of seven hundred meters above sea level. The rocks on display have been collected from all over the island since the late 1069s. One highlight was the animals that were made from roots. It was like looking at a cloud and figuring out what it was except you could almost see it right away! The other statues of interest were the Dong-ja-seoks which are used at both sides of a grave in Jeju. They are placed to wish the dead well and in the hope that they would keep the dead company and serve the dead.

Looking at the map, we saw a sign for a 'Mysterious Road'. Obviously, we wanted to know what this was all about so we followed the signs leading us to a fairly popular destination. On this road you are to turn off the engine, shift to neutral, and your car will appear to roll uphill. It's really a clever optical illusion du to the angle of the road relative to sight lines, but it sure looked convincing! There were tons of other cars doing the same thing and although we tried it a few times, going uphill didn't seem to work! We turned around and tried once more on a flat surface. While Steph was out of the car videotaping it, Kelly and the car were pulled away! Chasing a car down a Mysterious Road was definately a first!

We found another random temple called Woljeongsa. It had a beautiful statue in the middle of the grounds, and a random broom that was calling for a horsey-ride! (see picture).

Our next stop was THE highlight of our trip. Friends told us all about Loveland, but we had trouble finding it on any map. This is because Loveland is a huge complex dedicated to penises and sex. Needless to say, it was hilarious! The first thing you see is a giant penis followed by a girl bent into a very sensual pose. It then gets more sexual and provocative from there on in!

There was everything from a giant penis spouting water in the middle of the park, to every kind of sexual pose you could think of (and have never thought of!). We were having a ball being surprised at what we saw for two reasons. First, Koreans are very non-sexual (or that's what they portray to be) and they are very shy about sex. Second, there were tons of Korean there! We weren't the only ones snapping tons of pictures rather the Koreans were there with the tripods and setting up shop! We spent a great deal of time examining, re-examining, and participating in some of the statues. You could sit in the arms of a strong man or sit in the middle of a woman's spread open legs. There was a blow-up doll museum and even a throne encircled by many wooden penises!

With every turn came (no pun intended) more laughs and pondering about how this place could really exist in Korea and not in every other country in the world. Needless to say, we are starting a Loveland train and soon there will be Loveland's across the globe! Feeling good about that business degree being put to use!

We left feeling quite fond of Loveland and bought some coconuts to try coconut milk - not because of Loveland but because we saw them on the side of the road. Not overly impressed, we swapped it for Diet Coke and headed on our way. We drove down a gorgeous scenic road to one of the paths to Hallasan National Park. On the way we almost hit a very sick looking horse that appeared from nowhere, but managed to find our way up to the top (via car). Hiking this mountain is said to be one of the finest things you can do on Jejudo but being with a car we took the opportunity to drive up to the Orimok entrance. We drove up 1100 metres above the sea and even drove through a cool rain cloud. The drive was beautiful and not even the burning smell of our brakes could ruin the view.

We popped out on the southern side of the mountain. There we stopped at the Jeongbang Waterfall. One of the three most famous waterfalls on Jeju Island, it is described as the only waterfall in Asia to fall directly into the sea. Not true! In fact, the water from Jeongbang actually falls 23 meters into a small, sheltered cove, and not directly into the ocean. Our brief stop was followed by a visit to Jungmun Beach. This beach is the main attraction of Seogwipo(town). We walked out onto the black rocks where we relaxed by the crashing waves.

After almost falling in, we returned safely to shore and headed back to Whitey-McTrash. We sped off down the coast to Daepo Seashore. This is home to Oedolgae (Lonely Rock), a 20m tall volcanic basalt pillar. From one angle, you can see what looks like a man whose belly has swollen due to drowning, while the pillar is said to represent his wife praying for his safety. The surrounding cliffs are made of vertical black rocks, rising from the ground and sea like giant hexagonal crystals. Erosion from the constant waves has resulted in natural stairs in some areas. It started to rain lightly as we strolled along the coast but it was still beautiful! We grabbed some rice cakes on the way back and pulled out the navigational skills once again.

Driving around was super fun but we needed some classic driving tunes. Unfortunately, Korean radio didn't have much to offer so we figured why not stop at EMart to pick up a tape or two (no CD player in the car obviously) or a mp3-tape gadget (the technical term). E-Mart proved to be more hilarious than expected...as always! We found a tripod, a tape-mp3 player, and even Jump Dance tapes that provided short but memorable songs that definately took us back. In addition, we grabbed some vino for camping that evening. EMart also proved to be a double-bonus as we saw the World Cup Stadium as well!

That evening we made our way up the west coast to Hyeopjae Beach next to Hallim Park. It was here that we set to camp for the evening. There were tons of Koreans and other teachers around, and after meeting a few of them we decided to grab some dins. We headed down the street to where we feasted on grilled pork in our own seaside dinner room with an incredible view of the sunset! It was delicious and we headed back to our site to set up our tent in the dark..without a flashlight! Success! We produced a beautiful blue tent on the edge of the water and then proceeded to celebrate with copious amounts of wine and chocolate! That night we partied with other teachers and kicked a few drunk Koreans away from our tent before passing out.

The morning after was interesting. Not only was it super hot in the tent, but by 6am it was so bright out that it woke our hungover bodies up! We both awoke in our clothes, and with terrible headaches. We dismembered our tent and hopped in the car. Literally 2 minutes later, we were so tired that we pulled over to a nearby beach and slept for two hours. Feeling rather refreshed, we carried on our way. We passed some gorgeous temples as we made our way around to the east coast of the island. We got on the coastal highway and witnessed some of the most beautiful waters we have seen ..since Guam! Hamdeok beach was incredible! It is most widely known for its sand and water and they weren't kidding! The water was crystal clear and the beach was as white as snow. It was so hot out that spending some time in the water was nice and we walked out along the pier to admire the black rocks leading up to the beach.

Our next peak of interest was Manjanggul - or lava tube caves. This was formed about 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. The lava erupted from the Geomun Oreium (parasitic volcano) where lava flowed down. This is the world's longest system of caves at about 13.4 km long with a height and width varying from 3m to 20m. The temperature down there was about 9 degrees celsius which was a huge jump from the 35 degree weather outside. At 1km (as far as you can walk), a well-lit lava pillar sits. This is the largest laval column in the world. It's a 7m-long lava column formed by lava that flowed down from the ceiling and towards both sides of the tube on the floor. It was phenomenal to see the force that lava could create and it was fun to walk around in the cold darkness! Emerging from the caves was a weird feeling as our sunglasses and camera lenses were all foggy for a few minues!

We continued along the coastal highway, taking note of the little old ladies selling dried squid by the side of the road (so cute!). We ended up at Seongsan Ilchubong or sunrise peak. This volcanic crater with vertical cliffs is the first to greet each day's new sun but requires a hefty climb (remember....car). It was still beautiful to see but we weren't really feeling like climbing or crawling to the top!

Instead, we made our way to U-do, an island 3.5 km away from the coast. Kelly skillfully backed up the car onto a boat which was impressive considering our state! The ride was smooth but rain clouds were in the sky (we thought we might get stranded!). Nevertheless, we made it to the island that was named for its shape, said to resemble a cow lying down or the head of a cow. It is very rural and relaxing even though it has 1750 inhabitants. There are three beaches (white, black and coral) and diving women who work in the cove below the lighthouse. Unfortunately we didn't see any of these women on the island but we believe we saw one atv'ing around the port before we left! We goofed around taking funny pictures around the island and admiring some of the beautiful caves.

We then (well Kelly) reversed the car back on the boat one more time and after falling dead asleep in less than 15 minutes, we arrived back on shore. We timed it perfectly so we could hit the road to find the volcanic crater. Sangumburi Crater is the crater of an extinct volcano, one that did not spew much lava or form much of a surrounding cone. This phenomenon called maru in Korean is the only one of is kind in the country. The crater is 100 meters deep and about 350 meters across. We walked around the rim, not so much impressed with the crater itself, but more so our ability to take more 'action' shots of us pretending to be the deer statue and running wild in the field. We ended up breaking our tripod (well one leg) but it was definately worth it!

That night we headed back into Jeju city for some Gim-Bap-Chung-Guk (our fav korean restaurant in Busan) and a stroll down to Tap-dong. This is the main tourist area of Jeju city, running near the boardwalk from Jeju port. There were tons of people playing basketball and soccer, riding bikes and kickboards, rollerblading and strolling along the water. There was an abundance of restaurants with outdoor patios and people bustling about! We walked for a bit then found the car before heading off to find souvenirs. Being not the brightest girls, we figured we'd wait until the last minute to find Jeju-men (the statues seen everywhere and traditionally Jeju-do). We dont know why we waited so long but we sure paid for our stupidity.

Everything...and we mean everything was closed and there weren't any Jeju-men to be found! Disappointed yet determined, we set off to find some. We drove around and around and obviously got lost! We ended up in Dodu-dong (ya....exactly) and tried our best to a) find Jeju-men and b) find our way out of there! To make matters worse, we were on E for gas and there wasn't a gas station in sight. Eventually somebody kind of guided us out of Dodu-dong and we managed to find a gas station. Just when we thought we were in the clear, we were told it was only Diesel! In fact, all of the gas stations we saw were Diesel! Bah! Feeling the fatigue we set off back into the city where we eventually found a spot that gave Whitey-McTrash some go-juice. With one less thing to worry about we spotted some Jeju-men in a random store and purchased them for an insanely cheap amount! Then we headed to the 5 dollar-naked-spa where we relaxed in hot tubs, sauna rooms and scrub stations which felt amazing after such a long day. At 1 am we cleaned out the car and found a random beach to park it. We slept in the car as we had to wake up super early to head back to the airport.

That morning we boarded our flight back to Busan feeling satsified with everything we accomplished in two days but exhausted as well! We heart Jejudo!

Kelly's Birthday!

2006-08-18T14:38:00.000+09:00

August 18th- Happy 23rd Birthday Kel! At midnight Steph sang Happy Birthday and spoiled me with delicious smartie cupckes.

In the morning she made me the perfect birthday breakfast: coffee smoothies, bagels with salmon and low-fat cream cheese and a fruit plate complete with peanut butter and whip cream. MMMMmmm....

After breakfast I headed off to work and after my second class i found a rose and some mini choco donuts on my desk. Thanks Stephy!

We headed home for lunch and when I walked into the apartment it was all decorated with streams and balloons and the floor of the living room was covered with chinese food boxes spelling out "Happy 23rd B-day Kel"!! (I always talk about how all I want is Chinese Food in a box like on the movies and TV because really you can't get that anywhere..anyways Steph ordered them online and had them shipped to her place in Burlington and then her mom sent them out here.. i am soooo spoiled). I was speechless and so excited. Each box had a little gift in it..the first was a card, then some socks, some nail polish, some of my favorite treats, noodles for lunch (Finally my dream of noodles in a box came true) and in the very last box was a DVD case. Steph made me a video/picture slide show all to music of our time in Korea and all our trips, it took her forever and is the absolute best present in the world! A wonderful walk down memory lane. The video was very long so we put it aside to watch after work.

My kids all made me cards and gave me some great gifts. We played games all day in my classes and the teachers even had a cake and sang to me during one of our breaks.

After work we packed for Jeju, went for some delicious Sushi (wearing my birthday princess glitter headband of course) and then came home and watched the long awaited video. It was soooo much fun to remember all the great times we have had and to think about all the amazing times still to come!

Steph spoiled me rotten and made turning 23 a day i will never forget. Thank you soooo much for a perfect day! You are the best!

Serena's Last Night Bash

2006-08-12T22:49:00.000+09:00

Aug 12th - We met up with some friends and headed to StarFace for Serena's last weekend in Korea. There was a great Korean band and we had a blast with the the gang! (Seph, Ash, Serena, Kel and Gill).

Seongnamsa Temple

2006-08-12T08:31:00.000+09:00

August 12: Erik, Kel & Stef set off on a trek to Seongnamsa Temple. Two buses totalling about an hour dropped us off right in front of the gate. There is an 800-metre walk along an interlocking stone path from the park entrance to the temple. Many people were camping down in the valley which we though spoiled the landscape but they looked like they were enjoying temselves. It was gorgeous with an overhanging canopy of trees that made the sun barely visible. At the temple's main gate, you can see the image of a multistoreyed pagoda and a stand of bamboo trees juxtaposed against the horizontal spread of a hip room and sprawling green mountain. We walked around the grounds, Stef so gracefully stubbed her toe on the only raised rock on the path, and basked in the hot sunshine.

This 3.53m-high octagonal stupa is said to contain the sarira of National Preceptor Douiguksa who founded the temple of Seongnamsa during the reign of King Heondeok(809-826) of the Unified Silla Kingdom(668-935).The carving of the lions, clouds, lotus and door-like designs is outstanding as is that of the guardian figures.The stupa is considered to be one of the best from the late Silla period. It was restored in 1962.

We enjoyed our afternoon out and then headed back to the front gate where we caught the bus back to Eonyang and then to Busan. What a fun afternoon outdoors!

JUST A QUICK NOTE...

2006-08-08T08:26:00.000+09:00

We have been super busy lately but finally finished our DMZ & Canada Day Party Blogs! (wow so long ago!). Scroll down to take a look and stay tuned for our blogs on our recent adventure to GUAM! Love, Stef & Kel

Supercar Show

2006-08-06T09:22:00.000+09:00

August 6: BEXCO was hosting an International Supercar Show and Erik & Stef decided to check out our future cars :) The show had everything from Ferrari's to Maserati's to a gorgeous little yellow Lamborghini. It was exciting since Korea rarely has anything on the streets than a BMW!

GUAM

2006-07-29T16:14:00.000+09:00

July 29th-Steph, Erik, Tara and Kel woke up crazy excited to finally head off to PARADISE!!! We grabbed the KTX to Seoul where we boarded our first flight to Osaka and then after a very quick escourt through the airport we got seated in first class for the rest of our journey to gorgeous GUAM. We had leg room, reclining seats and best of all free drinks. We arrived in Guam around 1am and got a shuttle to the Mariott Hotel Guam! We got a great deal to stay there and it definatly lived up to its reputation..Gorgeous! We dropped our stuff off in our rooms and explored the hotel before heading to bed in the most comfortable beds ever!

Guam, officially the U.S. Territory of Guam, is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territoryof the United States. It uses the american dollar. Its inhabitants are the Chamorros, who first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago.
Guam is located at 13°26′31″N, 144°46′35″E ( literally the middle of the pacific ocean with nothing around for ages). It has an area of 210 square miles (544 km²). The northern part of the island is a forested coralline limestone plateau while the south contains volcanic peaks covered in forest and grassland. A coral reef surrounds most of the island. Guam is the southernmost island in the Mariana island chain and is the largest island in Micronesia.

July 30th - We woke up bright and early and after a coffee on the balcony we headed down to the buffet breakfast. The food was amazing!! After breaky we headed down to relax and do a little suntanning on the gorgeous white sand beach. We spent the day swimming, in the crystal clear turquoise water, walking the beach and of course indulging in some delicious tropical drinks! mmm daquiris.

Late in the afternoon we decided to head over to "Two Lovers Point" to watch the sunset. This startling cliffline in Northern Guam, overlooking the glimmering Philippine Sea, is the site of an ancient Chamorro legend:

Once long ago, in the time when Spain ruled Guam there was a proud family living in Hagatna, the capital city. One day the father arranged for his beautiful daugter to take a powerful Spanish captain as her husband. When the girl discovered this, she was so distraught that she ran to the north of Guam. There, on the moonlit shore, she met and fell in love with a young warrior from a very modest Chamorro family. He was gentle, with a strong build, and had eyes that search for meaning in the stars. When the girl's father learned of the two lovers, he grew angry and demanded that she marry the Spanish captain at once. That day at sundown, she stole away to the same high point along the shore, and once again met her Chamorro lover. Her father and all the Spanish soldiers pursued the lovers up to the high cliff above Tumon Bay. The lovers found themselves trapped between the edge of the cliff and the approaching soldiers. The lovers tied their long black hair into a single knot. They looked deeply into each other's eyes and kissed for the final time. Then they leaped over the long, deep cliff into the roaring waters below.
Since that day, Chamorros have looked to the jutting peak above Tumon Bay with reverence. The two lovers remain a symbol of true love--a love in which two souls are entwined forever in life and in death. Forever after, thehigh point on the cliff was known as Two Lovers Point.

We spent some time admiring the breathtaking sunset and incredible view of Tumon Bay before heading back to the Mariott for dinner at The View.

Steph's legs were sooooo sunburnt...hello lobster! We were all feelin' the effects of a long day in the sun so we had a few drinks on the balcony and headed to bed early.

July 31st - After another delicious breakfast buffet we decided to rent a car and drive all around the island. It takes about 3 hours to do the entire loop along the coast.

The shorline was incredible, the windy roads took us past huge palm trees, gorgeous beaches, rockey cliffs, turquoise water, rugged mountains and even some random animals on the side of the road. We even got a glimpse of Coco's Island. We stopped at Jeff's Pirate's Cove to try on some coconut bikini's and Kel bought a mask for her collection. The island has soo much to offer in terms of variety and gorgeous coastal scenery. A great day trip!

On the way back to the hotel after our island adventure we stopped for some milkshakes at a little place called Steaks n' Shakes. MMMmmmm...

Later we played in the pool where Kel realized her bathing suit was see-through. We had a good chuckle to say the least. Heheehe... After swimming we headed up to the hotel for some down time and to get ready for dinner. The sunset was gorgeous.

We got in the car in search of a good thai restaurant for dinner. We found a great little place called "Ploy Thai Cousine" and had delicious Pad Thai before heading off to KMart. We were like kids in a candy store..people must have thought we were living on a deserted island for 10 years. We were so excited for stuff from home: low fat anything, brownie mix, salad dressing and the highlight: ice cream sandwiches! KMart was an absolute blast!!! ( never thought we would ever be so excited for Kmart).

Back at the hotel we filled some ice buckets and headed out to the pool to have a few drinks, enjoy the crazy storm, eat some Kmart snacks and play some cards.

Sept 1st- MMMMmmmm delicious breaky and a day of relaxing at the beach. We also checked out the Tumon Bay Paradise Island shopping and touristy area.

We walked up to Steaks n' Shakes to have dinner before sneaking onto the PIC (Pacific Islands Resort) next to our hotel. This place was the Club Med of Guam. It was always rockin' with great live bands, waterslides, activities galore and best of all hammocks. So we gave ourselves a tour of the gorgeous hotel and even had a few tropical umbrella drinks at the pool bar. We relaxed in the hammocks and even showed the guests how to shake it. We (S & K) danced out hearts out.. we even had an audience by the end! After an evening out we headed back for some zzzz's.

August 2nd- Rise and Shine...we woke up and relaxed on the balcony admiring the wonderful view (This postcard perfect pic if from our balcony). After breaky we decided to spend our last day at the PIC. We snuck onto the resort by the beach and found a nice chair to set up shop. First things first we had to do the waterslide. Steph and I thought it would be a good idea to go together on the little mat... It was wild, we underestimated the power of the little slide and almost flew off... we laughed soooo hard and when we tried to go together for round two, the new lifeguard refused to let us go..said it was too dangerous... oooppps i guess we could see why...Next we had to try the floating blocks ( you had to run across them as fast as possible without falling into the pool) we had some good laughs before heading off to do some kayaking around the lazy river and waterfalls. Later in the afternoon we got busted! A large scary looking security guard was on to us and so we played dumb and decided to head back to our resort instead of paying the 115$ for a day pass! We had our fun! Thanks PIC...suckers!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our last few hours of Guam sunshine!

In the evening we headed back to Paradise Island area for drinks, shopping at a night market, more pad thai on an outdoor patio and some brownies for dessert at Planet Hollywood Guam! We did the tour of a few other hotels and kicked around the area before we had to head out.

Our flight was at 1am so after playing with the idea of never leaving Guam we fought the urge to stay and boarded our flight back to Korea. GUAM... WOW! It was Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

2006-07-26T09:24:00.000+09:00

July 26: It was so hot out! We (Erik & Stef) couldn't move without sweating but decided to take advantage of the blue skies by heading to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was first built in 1376 during the Goryeo Dynasty. During the reign of Uwang, the great Buddhist teacher known as Naong established this temple beside the sea. Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Seawater Great Goddess Buddha), Daeungjeon Main Sanctuary, Yongwangdang Shrine, Gulbeop Buddhist Sanctum (enclosed in a cave), and a three-story pagoda with 4 lions can all be seen looking out over the ocean. The main sanctuary of the temple was reconstructed in 1970 with careful attention paid to the colors that were traditionally used in such structures. On the right-hand side, inside the a cave, is a uniquely designed Buddhist sanctum, while situated just in front of the main sanctuary is a three-story pagoda with 4 lions. The 4 lions are symbolizing joy anger, sadness, and happiness. Other special sites at the temple are the 108 stairs and stone lanterns lining the rocky landscape.

We then spent the rest of the day lounging by Songjeong Beach in the shade!

9th Boryeong Mud Festival!

2006-07-20T22:31:00.000+09:00

July 14th: This weekend we went to celebrate the 9th Boryeong Mud Festival! It's an event that is centered around this mud that is collected from the clean beach. It is renowned for its superior quality and contains rich natural minerals. We (Kelly, Steph and Tara - Kelly's friend from home who is visiting us!) headed to Jinju Friday night to get a good start on the long trek to the east coast of Korea. We thought we were being very smart by bringing alcohol with us but unfortunately the bag in which it was being carried gave way and Kelly received a huge splash of red wine and vodka and a deep cut to the toe while exiting the subway. :( We recovered when we got to Jinju by buying some terribly cheap wine from the mart along with our Peach Champagne!

July 15th: We had to get up at 5am to catch the 6am bus which proved to be more difficult than planned since we got a little tipsy and stayed up into the wee-hours of the night. Either way, we found some of our buddies at the bus station and headed for a two hour bus ride up to Daejeon. We then had to catch another 2.5 hour bus ride to Daecheon Beach where the Mud Festival was being held. We slept most of the time which proved to be beneficial because upon arrival we gave'er!

We got to the beach and stood in awe as people started piling towards the huge mud slide and mud activities that were set up around the beach. There was a Mud Prison where you go if you aren't covered in mud, a Mud Wrestling pit, Mud Inflatable fun-ness, Mud Stations where you could paint yourself (and others) in mud, and a central stage where a concert was being held on the beach.

We dropped off our bags in a locker and headed to the store to grab some beers (note it is about 11am) and headed off to the beach. Everyone was covered in mud so we figured we should join in the festivities and drenched ourselves from head to toe in the cool, soft mud. We met up with the rest of the gang and spent the rest of the day letting the mud dry, playing in the ocean, and drinking copious amounts of Budweiser.

The most random part of the day was when we were walking around and Steph ran into Sarah Jane who was a high-school friend from Burlington! She was there with her hubby and friends and is teaching English in Seoul! I haven't talked to her in 5 years so was amazing to catch up briefly on our lives and to see a familiar face! Then not even 10 minutes later we ran into Josh Seager who we went to Dalhousie with! He's also teaching near Seoul. It was hilarious to meet up with another Halifornian!

Later that afternoon we headed back to our house where we were staying. It was on the out-skirts of the city but amongst the gorgeous rolling hills. There were 15 of us staying at the fully-furnished house and we all enjoyed much needed hot showers. After some lounging around we all examined our sunburns . We all realized it does not have to be sunny to get a sunburn and mud is not an effective UV protection agent.

We headed back to the beach to see the opening ceremonies. After losing everyone among the thousands of wandering mud-goers, we found our group and drank on the beach. We spent the rest of the night hanging out, watching the fireworks, and making fun of the Koreans who were enthralled with the silly dancers on the stage. We capped off the night with some pizza and chocolate before hitting the floor to sleep.Zzzzz.....

July 16th: The next morning came early and it looked like it was going to rain so we jumped back on the bus and headed back to Daejeon. From there we (Tara, Kelly, Steph and Erik) took the KTX back to Busan. That evening Tara fixed us up a wonderful imported dinner of whole wheat pasta, veggies, bread and wine. So delicious!

We had the next day off so obviously it rained. We went for some Vietnamese food and then to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Our day improved dramatically when we saw Jonny Depp in his eyeliner :)

Great weekend!

Tara in Korea

2006-07-13T20:02:00.000+09:00

July 13th- Kel's friend Tara Diggle arrived from Montreal for a visit. She came with a suitcase full of goodies from home. Whole wheat pasta and wraps, cupcakes, salad dressing, special K, stuff for our upcoming travels and much more. Despite the fact that it rained for 3 weeks straight while she was here we had a great time!!

Haeundae Beach: Tara and Kel took a walk down to the beach and along the rockey shore to the mermaid statue. It was a beautiful sunny day, so of course the beach was covered with umbrellas (silly Koreans and their fear of the sun). We saw some drunk Koreans still passed out on the beach, climbed the lifeguard tower and ran to avoid the crashing waves. A great morning adventure!

Jangsan Mountain: Tara and Kel took off ealry one morning for a little workout. We went to Jangsan Mountain to see the waterfall and do a little hike.

Mud Festival: We headed to Jinju friday night where we introduced Tara to Soju.. yuck! We had a blast at the Boryeong Mudfestival (See MudFest post)

Busan Museum of Modern Art: Steph and Tara headed out one morning to the museum.

Mackaley and Noribong - July 21st: We (Steph, Kel and Erik) thought we would introduce Tara to Mackaley (Korean rice wine). It was hilarious we played drinking games, did some "one shots" with random Koreans and many tea pots later and just drunk enough we headed off to Noribong to sing our hearts out. Kel danced and played the tamboreen on the tables, everyone sang and of course laughed at Kelly making an attempt to sing. Good times!

Guam: We flew to Paradise in the middle of the Pacific ocean to spend 5 days on the beach (See Guam post).

Shabu-Shabu: We went for some Shabu-Shabu, which is small slices of meat and veggies that you cook in a hot soup right in front of you ( It's kind of like meat fondue). Delicious!

Nampo and Jagalchi Fish Market: Kel and Tara headed to nampo-dong for a little shopping. We browsed the busy streets for souvenirs for Tara to take back home and bought some great army shorts! Once we were all shopped out we headed over the the fish market a must do when in Korea. Rows and rows of booths selling fresh seafood, veggies and even pig heads..ewww...

Pot Luck: One night after cooking up a storm we headed to the girls place (Gill, Ash and Serena) for a pot luck dinner. We made devilled eggs, thai wraps, potato fries and other delicious creations. We hung out with the girls and even had a little ice cream cake for dessert.

Weekend in Seoul: Kel and Tara headed up to Seoul for one last party night before Tara headed home. We had dinner at Pita Time..mmmmm so delicious and then bumped into Seager and met him and his friends for drinks at Gecko's and then headed to the famous Rockey Mountain Tavern. It was there 2nd anniversary Beach Bash so we joined in the all night festivities!! Everyone was dressed in beach gear.. yep he's wearing a speedo in the bar! Great Times! Thanks Tara for a great visit!

Tongyeong City

2006-07-09T21:50:00.000+09:00

July 8th: It was raining but Erik & Stef felt like an adventure so we took a shot 1 hour bus ride from Jinju to Tongyeong. It is a small fishing harbour situated between two of the biggest islands in Korea (Namhae & Geoje). It reminded us of Halifax with the harbor lined with fishing boats and the pourring rain. Either way, we still managed to get a glimpse of the harbor with the fog rolling through. It cleared up for a bit as we toured Mt. Nammangsan Park which lies next to the huge culture and arts centre. We climbed to the top to see clearly across the harbor from a gorgeous pavillion.

Afterwards we walked through the over-hanging trees until we stumbled upon the International Sculpture Park. There were some interesting ideas presented including a man that slowly misses his head and a art display you could walk through that felt like rain.

We walked through the town, had some coffee, and proceeded to the Gangguan Port where there was a Turtle warship boat docked for show. We got to go inside and see what it would have been like to be aboard one of the only ships that was successful in Korea's battles. Is has a domed room that is covered with sharp pointers that would fend off attackers.

It was raining so hard but we still wanted to take a look around so we walked down the pier and along the water to the Undersea Tunnel which blocks the seas and is the first of its knd in Asia and connects the land and the islands. We walked through to see the history of the area and eventually pop out on the island. We were glad to get a break from the rain as we were completely drenched. It was getting late so we hopped on a bus back to Jinju! It's definately a place we want to return to when it's sunny as there are gorgeous islands accessible only by ferry!

DMZ

2006-07-03T10:07:00.000+09:00

June 23: After a long day's work, we (K & S) departed on the KTX train for Seoul. We were super excited because we were heading up for a full day tour of the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone between South and North Korea) and a fabulous Canada Day Party in Seoul! We arrived at 12:30am into Seoul station and usually the subway stops running at midnight. Just so it happens, Korea was playing against France in the World Cup at 4am Korean time so they kept the subway open all night to help those in transit to watch the game. We made our way to Seoul Motel in Itaewon and tried to get some shut-eye.

June 24: Bright and early at 5:45 we awoke to catch the end of Korea vs. France match. A loss of 2-0 for Korea meant that this was as far as they would go in the search for the cup and we were a bit sad :( Either way, we were off for a busy day so we made our way to the USO office where we had to check in by 7am for the tour! It was funny to see so many white people waiting around and we even bought some magazines from home! We almost boarded the wrong bus but once we were all organized we sat back, read our new magazines, and ignored our crazy tour guide who we could barely understand. We slept for a bit and and hour later we arrived at these huge barracades, barbed wired fences, road blocks, and many U.S. military officials. We were at the most northern part of South Korea where citizens could visit - the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ).

The military demarcation line (MDL) of separation between the belligerent sides at the close of the Korean War divides North Korea from South Korea. A demilitarized zone (DMZ) extends for 2,000 meters (just over 1 mile) on either side of the MDL. Both the North and South Korean governments hold that the MDL is only a temporary administrative line, not a permanent border. This is the world's most heavily defended border, with hundreds of thousands of NK soldiers poised to swoop into Seoul . It was interesting to know that "two-thirds" ("70%", "the vast majority") of the North Korean army is stationed along the border, or within a few hours of the border!

We had to go through quite the procedure to get anywhere close to the DMZ. We proved our citizenship a few times before being removed from our bus so they could search it. When we finally were cleared for entrance, we made our way to Camp Bonifas. Camp Bonifas is the base camp for the United Nations Command Security Force--Joint Security Area. Its motto is 'In Front of Them All' given regarding its position on the border. It is located 400 meters south of the southern boundary of the Demilitarized Zone. Camp Bonifas is home to the soldiers who support the Military Armistice Commission at the JSA. The United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area (UNCSB-JSA) was established during the Korean War to provide security and logistical support to the United Nation Command elements involved in the ongoing armistice negotiations.

We were briefed by Sgt. Dobson and escorted around the grounds by Sgt. Hubbard. We signed waivers saying that if N.Korea decided to attack we were vulnerable and headed out to begin our tour. In the JSA, there are three blue buildings all in a row that are used for meetings between the two sides. Behind these buildings is the North Korean government building where soldiers are said to be watching you at all times. We were explicitly told not to point, stop walking when outside between buildings, make any gestures towards N.Korea or do anything that would offend the other side. Steph forget about the no gesture rule as well as the do not walk behind that guard rule...oooppps..luckily we are still alive.

We went inside the MAC building (Military Armistice Comission) used for important meetings concerning the cease fire agreement and any business between the two sides. The three microphones in the room are monitored and recorded 24 hours a day. A huge wooden table divides the building right down the middle and marks the Military Demarkation Line which is further represented outside by the concrete slab. At one end, a N.Korean soldier stood protecting the door to N.K. and a Rock soldier (S.K.) stood at the head of the table. If you want to cross from the South to the North you must do so at the opposite end of the United Nations command flag ( to show respect).

Just to the right of the main North Korean building overlooking the DMZ is a North Korean watch tower. During the tour, if you look carefully, you should be able to see yourself being watched and photographed by NK soldiers.

After we departed, we saw the Pagoda at Freedom House, and Checkpoint 3, which is near the scene of the 1976 Ax Murder Incident. In the JSA, near the Bridge of No Return, a 100 ft (30 m) poplar tree blocked the line of sight between two United Nations Command (UNC) checkpoints. The northernmost checkpoint, CP#3, was only visible from the other checkpoint, CP#5, situated next to the Bridge of No Return. Running down the middle of the bridge was the Military Demarcation Line between North Korean and South Korean territory, and the Korean People's Army (KPA) had made numerous attempts to grab the UNC personnel from CP#3 and drag them across the bridge. On August 18, 1976, a group of five Korean Service Corps(KSC) personnel escorted by a UNC team including two United States soliders and one South Korean soldier was sent out into the JSA to trim the tree. Under JSA rules, none of the troops were armed, but the tree-trimming detail had mattocks and axes.

After trimming began, the North Koreans abruptly told them to cease their activity. The commanding officer, Captain Arthur Bonifas, ordered the detail to continue their work. Shortly afterward thirty KPA soldiers attacked the work detail using axes seized from the tree-trimmers, resulting in the death of the two U.S. soldiers, Capt. Bonifas and 1st Lt. Mark Barrett. A South Korean soldier scattered the North Koreans by driving his truck over the prone body of Bonifas, straddling him to provide cover, but he died before receiving medical treatment.
A Corporal saw the attack from a nearby three-story pagoda and recorded the murders with a movie camera.

We also saw the Bridge of No Return, the only bridge connecting North and South Korea. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The name originates from the fact that prisoners were given the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. But if they chose to cross the bridge, they would never be allowed to return.

The last time the bridge was used was in 1968 when the crew of the USS Pueblo was released and ordered to cross into South Korea via the bridge.The bridge is also portrayed in the beginning of the James Bond film, Die Another Day, where it was also used to trade Prisoners of War, and in the South Korean movie Joint Security Area, where it is the scene of a gunfight between North and South Korean soldiers.

At Checkpoint 3 (surrounded by Communist North Korea on three sides) we witnessed the giant flagpole at the North Korean Propaganda Village. The Kijong-dong propaganda village, situated 1.8km away from Taesung-dong, was built specially in the north area of DMZ for the purpose of propaganda. There are no residents except soldiers. The world's highest flag tower is where North Korea's national flag is hanging stands in the entrance of the village. Both villages (one one South Korean side and one on North Korean side) boast flagpoles that grew in scale over the years. In this instance, UN forces finally surrendered. The North Korean flag in Kijong-dong stands 160 meters high. The flag is 30 meters long and is estimated to weigh 600 pounds. Both flag and pole are the largest in the world.

Across the line, less than two kilometers to the south is Daesong-dong, perhaps the most heavily-guarded settlement on Earth. Some 40 families farm the area under armed guard and strict regulations. They must be in by 10 p.m. Lights out is 11. Nonetheless, the town is nicknamed "Freedom Village." North Korea jamming towers line the border to block out radio, tv and cell phone signals cutting off their citizens from the outside world.

Next we got taken to some big lookout called the Dora Observatory where we were shown a detailed 3D layout of the DMZ. We were allowed to take pictures but only from 100 feet behind a huge concrete wall because tourist photos could reveal strategic outpost locations. Needless to say we have many pictures of the North Korean skyline.

The Third Tunnel called the tunnel of Aggression was a definate highlight. We put on our hard hats and headed down to walk the tunnel. Only 44 km from Seoul, it's 1.7 km long, 2 m high and 2 m wide. It runs through bedrock at a depth of about 73 m below ground. It's apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea, and the tunnels are each large enough to allow the passing of a division in a single hour along with their weaponry.

Starting on November 15, 1974, a series of tunnels were discovered leading under the DMZ. The first of these is believed to be about 45 metres below surface, with a total length of about 3.5 kilometres, penetrating over 1000 metres into the DMZ. When the first tunnel was discovered, it featured electric lines and lamps, as well as railways and paths for vehicles. The second was discovered on March 19, 1975 and is of similar length and between 164 and 524 feet below surface. The third tunnel was discovered on October 17, 1978. As the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip off from a North Korean defector. This time the South Koreans failed to find the tunnel directly, but dug a counter-tunnel to meet the North Korean tunnel. This tunnel is about 1 mile long and about 492 feet below surface. The fourth tunnel was discovered on March 3, 1990. It is almost identical in structure to the second and the third tunnel.

The South Korean's have blocked the actual demarcation line of the DMZ in the tunnel with three concrete barricades. There's even a small door, so I guess if you wanted to defect to the North you could. Our guide also told us that the North has organized tours of their side of the tunnel, so there were probably North Koreans standing on the other side of the concrete barricade...thinking about defecting to the South.

Dorasan Rail Station, is the last stop of a train line destined to go straight through North Korea, to China and Russia and on to Europe. Just this year, South Korea gave something like 150 million US dollars to North Korea to complete their portion of the railway line. Kim Jong-Il agreed to have it done as soon as possible. The South completed theirs within a few months, but the North may still take another couple of years. Either way, eventually you'll be able to travel by train from Seoul to Paris...no worries. President George W. Bush visited Dorasan Station in 2002 and signed what will be the last piece of the railway on the South Side. We also got a special North Korean stamp in our passports.

After the tour ended we headed back to Itaewon to meet the girls for some Pita Time and an evening on the town.

Canada Day Party!

2006-06-25T07:58:00.000+09:00

June 24: After a long day at the DMZ we met up with Ashley, Serena and Gil right in Itaewon, Seoul. We were getting ready for a messy night before the Canada Party. Us girls did the night up right starting with some Pita Time before hitting up Rocky Mountain Tavern(RMT). This bar is owned by a couple of Yukon-ites who have created a bar solely dedicated to Canada and all of its hockey greatness. They show all the hockey games and TV shows that are never seen in Korea (including the new season of Trailer Park Boys). We met one of the owner's who insisted we drink doubles (or triples...we can't remember) and we sipped our way into a great night. Around 5am we decided to head back after dancing up a storm at a nearby club.

The next morning we awoke to being told to check out of the room. My how 11am comes quickly when you are hungover. We decked ourselves out in Canada gear, grabbed some pancakes for breaky and headed to Nanji Campground where Molson and other great sponsors were putting on the event. Right on the Hangang River, we sat in the sunshine with the RMT crew (see pic) and enjoyed a delicious Outback Steakhouse lunch. The festivities carried on all day with live bands, tug-of-war competitions and a draw for an airplane ticket to Canada! While events were taking place we had our own event to take care of. Everytime you finished a bottle you had to throw it in the middle and if you broke another you had to buy a round. This is all fun but with over 20 people playing it can get expensive!

At the end of the day, it was time for us to head back to Busan. We dragged ourselves away from the festivities, and hopped back on the KTX home. What a killer weekend! HAPPY early CANADA DAY!!

Jirisan Mountain & Namhae Island

2006-06-18T22:35:00.000+09:00

June 17: On a beautiful Saturday, Erik & Steph bused it out from Jinju to Jirisan - Korea's first National Park and covering the largest area (440 square km). We arrived at the Sicheon-myeon entrace which is one of the three entrances to Jirisan National Park. We stumbled upon this valley lined with rocks and running water. Alongside the valley was an outdoor Buddhist shrine with a mats for praying and a small waterfall running in the background. We then followed an unknown path that led us into a bamboo forest and down through a ravine.

We wanted to see more of the mountain so we hiked up to an opening where little food stalls and rocky paths started to form. We gazed out at the gorgeous valley below and listened to the running water beneath us. Afterwards, we found this path that was marked with pictures of bears and other scary wildlife. So, we took it. It weaved in and out along the river until we came to a set of wooden stairs that led us up into this secluded balcony where you could see the river and the luscious green trees for as far as the eyes could see. We debated turning around but instead carried on until the path sort of ended and we were left to dodge mud and prickly plants until we emerged back where we started. We rested at the cafe and cursed the cuts the plants imprinted on my legs. We headed back to Jinju to enjoy some sushi and cathc out friends playing jazz at a italian-restaurant.

June 18 - The next morning proved to be more beautiful than the day before so we headed out to Namhae Island. Namhae is the third largest island in Korea accessible by both ferry and car. Half of the hour and a half bus ride was spent winding the very narrow road (1 car only....when a car came from the opposite directon they had to back up until our bus could get by without going off the cliff!). The road literally went on the very edge of the island and wound up and down giving us a little scare once in a while since the guard rail was nothing more than a metal pole.

We arrived at Songju Beach where we were welcomed with near-white sands, warm water, and a beautiful landscape. We spent the afternoon lounging by the seaside, watching Koreans do their beach-fun things, and meeting up with some people we knew! Hilary - who lived next door to me in Halifax in the ghetto has been in Korea for a while now and in the past 2 weeks I have seen her both at Haeundae beach and to my surprise - at Songju beach! We also saw some people that Erik plays in his band with and we all had a nice chat and got to know some new people. It was awesome to see Hil and next time i'm on a beach i'm definately going to look for her!

As the sun was setting we hopped back on a bus to Namhae and caught another one to Jinju. It was a travel-packed weekend that left us exhausted but it was totally worth it!

Camping in Jirisan National Park

2006-06-17T15:19:00.000+09:00

June 17th - Kelly and Ashley met up at Emart to pick up some food for our big camping adventure. Then started the long journey to Korea's first(1967) and largest (440square km)Natinal Park: Jirisan. A long subway and two bus rides later we got dropped off about 45 minutes past Hadong in Ssanggyesa.
We walked up to the entrance of the park where we asked how to get to "Buril Pokpo Camping Ground" which from what we assumed and could see from the map was supposed to be just past the entrance to the park. BUT we must have read the map wrong because the lady at the gate said it was a 1 hour walk. We were kinda annoyed because we had our backpacks, tent, blankets, little cooler for the food, pots and pans and of course a few bottles of wine. So we decided to suck it up, we were sure the one hour walk was an overestimate and it was probably about a half hour, cause really who would built a campsite much futher than that!?! And if they did who would be dumb enough to shlup all their camping gear?!?
So we started the walk and followed the signs through the beautiful Ssanggyesa Temple. The magnificent temple was originally built in AD722 to enshrine a portrait of monk Yukjo. We walked through the three gates (the third complete with colorful guards placed there to protect the temple and stop evil spirits and demons from entering). The buildings were right in the mountainside and surrounded by bamboo forest and a gorgeous creek.
Not much further... or so we thought... next thing we know the signs to the campsite are leading up a hiking trail 2.5 kms up a mountain. We just kept on thinking it had to be close and it was too late to turn around now.... so we were those dumbies who hiked for 3 hours uphill with 50 pounds of gear ( 1 hour walk my ass). People were looking at us like we were crazy!!! We almost gave up a few times, but the hike was soo beautiful (the trail ran alongside a rippling creek) we kept on going and eventually we came to a clearing and a sign for the campground!!!! Sweaty and exhausted we picked a campsite (there were only 3.. back to that nobody is dumb enough to camp all the way up a mountain comment). At the far end of the campsite was a little house with a pond and picnic area, gardens and Inukshuks (Linds I thought of you!!), home to a mountain hermit who sells chocolate bars and cold drinks to the passing hikers. We went to say hello and bought a cold beer and a chocolate bar. The hermit monk gave us some fresh lettuce ( straight from the garden). We walked back to the campsite to set up our tent and find some firewood. We cooked corn on the cob, sausages and asparagus over the fire as we watched the sky turn red, orange and pink as the sun set. After dinner we had some wine with brie cheese and baguette and for dessert some brownies and whip cream (all very healthy of course..yikes). We sat up chatting enjoying the stars and having a few good laughs. The torturous hike up was well worth it.

June 18th - We woke up bright and early with the sun and the sound of birds. We eventually got up and made some breakfast. We apparently were not supposed to have a fire ( National Park rules)... ooooppss.... so we couldnt have our eggs for breaky but we did manage to throw something together (crackers, beans, bread lettuce and tomatoes). After relaxing at the campsite we decided to go for a hike to the Buril Pokpo ( Buril Falls). On the way to the falls all of sudden you come across a little temple hidden in the mountains. We walked around and saw a monk chanting and meditating. A few minutes later we reached the falls. They were incredible: Legend has it that a huge dragon ascending from Yongso Pond, below the falls, to heaven beat the mountain with it's tail and formed 2 peaks Cheonghakbong and Baekhakbong. The falls stream down between the two peaks presenting an incredible 60- meter high water column. We admired the falls, read a little and relaxed until a huge group of Korean hikers came alng and spoiled the silence. So we headed back to camp.
As we were packing up our tent a Korean guy came over and insisted we join him and his friends for lunch. They wouldnt take no for an answer, so next thing we knew we were sitting on the floor eating hot peppers, gimbap, lettuce wraps, fish and rice trying to avoid the soju and beer that was flowing freely.
After lunch we packed the rest of our stuff and headed back down ( down is much easier!! but still a bit of a struggle with all our stuff). When we got to the bottom we explored the temple and then headed along the street lines with restuarants, vendors and people selling roots and grains to the bus. We had an hour or so before our bus came so we sat down by the river and cooled off by dipping our feet in the crystal clear water.
Our first Korean camping trip was nothing short of a wild adventure, but well worth every minute! And we did learn a lesson: always make sure you can drive to the campsite and that no huge hike is involved!!!! Great Times!!

Temple Stay - Golgulsa Temple

2006-06-15T15:16:00.000+09:00

June 10th - Kelly, Ashley and Serena set off to spend the weekend as monks at Golgulsa Temple. Golgulsa temple ( meaning Stone Buddha Temple) is the only cave temple in Korea and has some of the oldest historical Buddist ruins in Mt. Hamwol. The temple was built out of solid rock during the sixth century and contains a sculptured MayaTathagata Buddha and twelve rock caves. The current Grandmaster Seol Jeong made a road and renovated and developed the temple to its current state. It is also the head center of "Sunmundo" ( I'll explain later).

We had a little trouble finding the place ( it's tucked away in the mountains), but hey our detour allowed us some beautful views of mountains, rice patties and even the ocean, so it all worked out. After walking through the colorful main gate guarded by large stone statues (believed to protect the temple) we made our way up the steep hill to the office. Of course we stopped to take pictures with a big stone Buddha staue ( Yes thats me sitting on the Buddha 's lap rubbing his belly..heheh)as well as a gorgeous Pagoda on the way. We were greeted by Kate (A soon to be monk/Sunmundo teacher in training from Whales) who brought us to our room and gave us a tour of the temple. Oh and we got uniforms! Very attractive orange vests!!! We had some time before dinner, so we set off to explore the grounds. We walked through the caves admiring the Buddist statues and carvings and eventually made our way to the top of the mountain where the famous 6th century Silla Buddha is carved right into the rock. It has a high Usnisa (a thing on the top of its head symbolizing supreme wisdom). After the caves we walked up Five Chakra Hill to the statue at the top and then went for a little hike in the woods and admired the peaceful, breathtaking scenery surrounding us.

At 5:50 pm the head monk hit the moktak ( a wooden block) to let everyone know it was dinner time. We headed to the dining room to eat rice, veggies and korean rice cake ( all the food is grown and make at the temple) in silence. At 7pm we made our way to the Sunmuda training facility where we took part in a chanting session. We had no idea what to do so we just kind of followed the others. There was alot of bowing and chanting in front of a statue of Buddha. It was very intense. After the chanting we had a Sunmudo training session.

Sunmudo ( Zen Martial Arts) is a training method in the form of Buddism and has been secretly handed down through the centuries by Buddhism families. Sunmudo is composed of two kinds of training: One is still ( Zen yoga & Zen gigong) and the other is active training ( Zen gymnastics & Zen-martial arts). Sunmudo is way to attain enlightenment through harmonizing the body, mind and breath. By purifying and harmonizing the three parts of Karma: body, speech and thought, this training enables one to accomplish and enter into the perfect spiritual concentration (samadhi) and ultimatly nirvana.

We also had no idea what to do in Sunmudo training, so again tried our best to follow the group. We did some yoga moves, some rolling around, some static postures, some martial arts kicks and arm movements and we also took part in some meditation as well as the traditional breathing method ( in throught the nose and out through the mouth created a sound while you push the air out). By the end we were sweating.... but really into it. Then the head monk took the temple stay people aside and introduced us to the Grandmaster of the temple and then taught us "Anapansati"( 'ana' means breathing in, 'pana' means breathing out and 'sati' means mindfulness)- the traditional method ( the way to obtain spiritual enlightenment by harmonizing body, mind and breathing). He also taught us how to bow properly (three times when entering a temple, or when bowing to the Grandmaster or head monk and of course during chanting ceremonies- a bit of a complicated process). After that he taught us the 17 steps/movements involved in sitting meditation and answered any questions we had. The Grandmaster came and sat with us as we wathched the rest of the class in action. They were incredible, jumping and flipping and kicking. The slow steady movements were also amazing to witness. We finished up the training with a sitting meditation, where we concentrated on breathing and our Zen pathways. Exhausted but feeling englightened we headed back to our room for an early night. We slept on thin matresses on the floor (called a yeo). Lights out in the temple is at 10pm, which makes sense when you get up at 4am. We didn't get much sleep because just outside our door thunder and lightning danced in the sky and the rain pounded on our roof all night.

June 11th- At 4 am we were woken up to the sound of the moktak greeting the new day. We hurried to the temple for 4:30am to read Buddist scriptures with the sanga (buddhist family) and take part in the worship by the image of Buddha. ( If anyone in the temple is absent for the 430am chanting they must perform 3,000 bows in punishment and the whole temple muct fast for a day). There was chanting and bowing and then a lenghty Zen-Meditation ( sitting), where we got balanced and centered for the day. Next we walked to the top of Five Chakra Hill where we practiced Ip-gwuan (we walked slowly around the statue of the five chakras in silence) then did a walking meditation from the hill all the way to the Il-Ju gate ( the main gate). This walk is supposed to give us time to reflect and prepare for the day ahead.

Next on the agenda at 7am was the very stressful Balugongyang (a special eating ceremony). Paru-gongyang is the method of preparing a meal. Through this practice we reflect on ourselves and how each individual has the potential to awaken to a pure life. It is an active zen-meditation that lets us understand the need for order, harmony and ultimatly respect within the temple and thus we attain a deeper sense of compassion for the people who have made the meal possible.
Needless to say we had to arrive 45 minutes early to learn the complicated and intricate steps and rules to the ceremony. And as soon as the Grandmaster is done eating you must also be finished all your food ( there is no wasting food in the temple) and then there is a complicated cleaning of your bowls and pooring the left over clean water back into a comunal bowl and if you get spices or anything not pure into the bowl then the whole temple must share in drinking the dirty water. Luckily we all managed to soar through it ( I am sure I messed up the order but noone noticed!).

At 8:30 am we had a Tea Ceremony with the Grandmaster and one of his monks. We sat on the floor and drank green tea, while we chatted with the Master about his life as a monk, the contruction of his temple and Buddhism. His english was very good and he was very kind.

After the Tea Ceremony we got in a van and headed to visit some other Buddist sites in the area. First we visited Janghang-ri, Wolseong area where we hiked across a river with a waterfall and bridge to an old temple site located at the eastern foot of Mt. Toham. The name of the demolished temple is unknown but two Pagodas on the east and west remain at the main hall site. The West Five Storied Pagoda is estimated as a excellent work of art created in the 8th century. We took pictures and the monk described the site to us. We also practiced some Sunmudo on the grass in front of the Pagodas. There was a photographer and journalist there writing a story for a Buddist Magazine, and so he asked me to do an interview and he took lots of pictures over the weekend. So look out for us in Korean a Buddist Magazine..heheh...
Next we headed for a tour of Ki Rim Sa Temple.

Ki Rim Sa Temple was founded in 643AD and was one of 31 temples of major significance during the Choson Dynasty. During times of war the horn that sounded to rally able bodied men to defend the surrounding area came from this temple. When we arrived at the temple we read about the legend of the flower of Udampara ( it has 5 auspicious colors in this temple) which blooms only once every thousand years. Legend has it there are 5 well waters (Kamro=sweet dew from heaven, Hwachong= gives the feeling of being at ease, Changgun= strengthens the body and spirit, Myongan= clears one's eyes and Ot'ak= famous for its clear green water ( the color is from a crow, a lucky animal to Koreans).

We entered the gates guarded by colorful warriors and then we walked around the grounds admiring the Chinnamnu ( famous headquarters in the days of Japanese invasion), the three story stone Pagoda, Buddist scripts and the famous "Five-hundred Buddha's Disciples of Ungjinjon" ( each Buddha is different and hard carved and painted). We peeked into temples with enormous gold Buddha's of all different shapes and sizes each representing something different. We also saw a huge gold statue of the Buddist Goddess of Mercy ( The lady with 1,000 hands). We also got to see a room with 3,000 Jade Buddha's all one of a kind. 3,000 is a very signifant number in Buddhism. Buddha became Enlightened at the foot of the "Bo" tree, nearly 3,000 years ago, and there is the theory of 3,000 boundless universes. It is believed that in our Milky Way galaxy there are 3,000 planets that have beings. We also got to see an enormous "gong", a drum and a bell that were all used to wake up everyone in the temple every morning.

After we finished exploring the temple we headed back to Gogulsa for lunch and to pack up. We said our goodbyes and headed home feeling englightened, awakened and really good about our spiritual journey. This is an experience i will never forget.

World Cup Soccer!!

2006-06-13T18:48:00.000+09:00

June 13: Scheduled at 10pm Korean time was the ever-important South Korea vs. Togo football match! We decked ourselves out with our Korean jerseys and tattoos and made our way to BEXCO (the big conference center) where hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the streets for pre-game celebrations. We were an hour early for the game and you could barely see the screen there were so many people! We were shocked at the pride and support for the REDS! Korean flags waving, red horns blazing, faces painted, and loud noise makes were seen in every direction...people were even sitting in the bushes to get a better look at the screen! At the half we raced to Hollywood Star to meet up with Serena, Ashley, Gil and the gang. We were thrilled when Korea scored late in the 2nd half to be up 2 - 1 and even more excited that they were able to hang on to that lead until the final whistle! The bar went nuts and we joined in screaming 'Dae-Hanminguk!!!' (Republic of Korea). It was a great night and we never felt so proud to be living in Korea! GO REDS GO!

Dongbaek Island

2006-06-11T18:40:00.000+09:00

June 11: Taking advantage of a beautiful day, Steph & Erik ventured to Dongbaek Island in Haeundae. In the old days, it was an isle completely separate from the land, but it is now connected to the land as times passes, due to the heaps of deposits for a long time. In the peak is a statue of Sir Cho, Chi Won who was the greatest scholar at the end of Silla Kingdom and his epitaph. Along the circurlar road is Haeundae seokgak (Stone Carving). A Mermaid Statue is on the rock toward the sea, a legendary statue about Princess Hwangok's story. We strolled along the boardwalk that lines the sea, wandered around the gardens, and climbed some rocks to sit and gaze at the rolling waves of the ocean. Definately one of the most beautiful places in Busan!

Children's Park & Mexican Fiesta Night

2006-06-07T16:03:00.000+09:00

June 4th- Kel met up with Ashley and Gill in Seomyeon to check out Children's Grand Park. It is a kid's amusement park situated at the foot of Baekyang Mountain, and has a nice lake and great walking paths. We did a tour of the lake, saw a giant monk statue, a waterfall and lots of kids! After the park we headed home to prepare for our Mexican Fiesta!
We made nachos, quesadilla's, tacos and my famous Sangria. Ash and I had a few mishaps in the kitchen but thats all part of the fun. heheh... We ate, we drank, we talked and we laughed! Great Times!

Busan Tower

2006-06-06T22:27:00.000+09:00

June 6: Today was Memorial Day which means a day off from school! We hadn't checked out Busan Tower yet so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and see what all the hype is aobut. Busan Tower sits atop Yongdusan rising 118 meters above sea level and it is said that on a clear day you can see Japan! Unfortunately we had some fog, but were still able to see out over the harbor and get a 360 degree view of Nampo-dong and surrounding areas from the observation deck. In the Yongdusan park area lies a large oceanarium, bell tower, octagonal pavilion, flower clock, and monuments to naval hero Yi, Sunshin, and independence fighter Ahn, Hui-jai.

Afterwards we walked through the crowded shop-lined streets of Nampo-dong and ran into Ashley and Gil! We were tempted to buy so many things but decided that we should be good and we returned home empty-handed (.....almost...teehee).

Drinks with Geena & Tom

2006-06-02T22:13:00.000+09:00

June 2: Wanting to eat at some new restaurants we invited Geena (an awesome Korean teacher at our school), her husband and their 2 year old daughter to this new Wheat Wine restaurant near our place. We drank a couple of kettles of this wheat wine and enjoyed fabulous cheap side-dishes such as mussels, spicy chicken, and seafood pizza. Geena's husband is in love with Tom Cruise and he told us so many stories about being in the air force and how Tom Cruise and the movie Top Gun influenced him to work out everyday. We ended up calling him Mr. Cruise and enjoyed watching him 'one-shot' his wine during hilarious drinking games!

ECC Pop Song Contest

2006-05-31T22:06:00.000+09:00

May 31: After a month of practicing songs and dances, ECC had their annual pop song contest where each class had to learn the words and make some smooth dance moves to popular songs. They had to compete against the other classes and the winners received pizza, hamburgers or chicken. It was super cute to see the kids perform and was a great day off of teaching!

Jangsan Mountain

2006-05-30T21:25:00.000+09:00

May 30: Later that morning (see previous post) we dragged our hungover-hurting bodies to Jangsan Mountain. Less than 2 km away from our apartment lies an impressive mountain hovering over the Haeundae area of Busan. Not mentioned on any Korean tourist websites, we decided to be our own tour guides and make the trek to the peak.

The entrance was gorgeous with waterfalls and rivers running down the mountain. We didn't know exactly how to get to the peak so we took the route we thought said 'peak'. It was after walking uphill on a trail no wider than our bodies and covered with overhanging trees for about an hour when we came to a wider but empty road. We saw a baby deer, but nothing else in sight. We accepted that we were lost and made our way to this little house on the hill where a man drew us a map in the dirt of how to get to Jangsan mountain. Nodding our head 'yes' as if we understood his directions, we set off through the barbbed-wire woods following yet another small and off-terrain path.

With each new crossing we guessed which way to go and luckily popped out at an intersecting path with a sign in Korean. We asked passerby's which way to the 'peak' and they pointed up (obviously). There were small openings along the way which gave us a glimpse into the world below and to re-assure ourselves that we were still going the right way. We took some turns, walked through a couple of outdoor restaurants, and conversed with a couple of locals who all tried to help us reach the top. Eventually we found the right path to the peak and continued to climb.

We were a little sketched out to see 'Mine Field' signs everywhere and words strongly cautioning us against leaving the path. After walking 15km uphill in the sun we made it to the peak! It was beautiful to be up so high in some fresher air although it was foggy and we couldn't see as far as we would have hoped. Either way, we sat on the rocks high above the city and enjoyed our Gimbap picnic lunch.

Soon after we headed down the right path and less than an hour later we were at the bottom. On our way we passed gorgeous streams and drank the fresh water from the waterfalls. When we were grounded we passed the sign that we thought said 'peak' (see above) and realized that it actually said 'path'. Ahhhh....so that's why we walked 15km uphill instead of the 3km it is actually supposed to take! We sat on the waterfall rocks at the bottom and rested our tired legs and re-filled our empty water bottles. We want to write to Lonely Planet to make this hike a must-see in Busan!!

Wes' Last Night

2006-05-29T20:57:00.000+09:00

May 29: Keeping with tradition, the crew from ECC went out for Wes' (the American teacher from Texas) last night. Our first stop was the Grand Hotel where we set up to bowl a couple of games. We split into teams to make it interesting with Kelly, Steph, Lisa (Mark's girlfriend) and Geena (our Korean teacher) making up Team D&G. Wes, Mark, Michael and Lisa (Korean teacher) were the opposition. The first game proved to be difficult for our team as we were slacking but the second time we really got in the groove and even bowled some strikes!

After bowling we headed to a Japanese pub called Minami, which happens to be the same bar we (and Wes) were taken to the first night out in Korea. We ordered some delicious Bamboo Soju(soju from a bamboo container), Squid Pizza (seafood paper), and played 'Go,Go, Let'sGo' (we'll show you when we get home!) . Later in the evening, we were joined by some very intoxicated Korean men - which always adds humor! (That's Wes holding the Bamboo Soju ---------------->)

We didn't want the night to end so we dropped by Norebong (Kareoke) for some laughs and some beats. Kelly sang which gives you an idea of how much Bamboo soju we drank and we rocked out until it became too confusing to pick new songs. On that note, we grabbed some more Maekchu (beer) from the variety store and strolled down to the beach where at 4:30am there were a surprising amount of Koreans out and about! There we sat in the wet sand and met some rather annoying military men who within 20 minutes made us want to go home. Gladly we headed back home to crawl into bed just as the sun came up!

Songjeong Beach

2006-05-20T20:44:00.000+09:00

May 20: On a beautiful Saturday afternoon we (Kelly, Steph & Erik) headed to Songjeong Beach just west of Haeundae Beach. The 2km long and up to 50 m wide beach was lively with Korean beach games and talented windsurfers. At one end there was a gorgeous pier with a small pavillion-style gazebo looking out on the crashing waves hitting the rocks below.

Deokjeokdo & Seoul

2006-05-15T12:31:00.000+09:00

May 12: After work we grabbed the high-speed KTX from Busan to Seoul where we met up with Fedora (Chris) who is also teaching in Korea! We stayed at his place in Bumgye (pronounced Bum-gay...it gets us everytime) where we dipped into his animal crackers and beer :)

May 13: With only 4 hours of sleep we were bound for Incheon Ferry Terminal to catch the 9:30am high-speed Princess ferry to an island 77km from Seoul called Deokjeokdo. We got there a bit early and when buying our ticket they told us to RUN! We ran with all our stuff down the pier, arms and bags flailing all over the place to find out that we made the 8:45am ferry instead. Working out for the better, we enjoyed the painless trip to the island. Seeing everyone board the bus we thought we'd 'wait it out' to see what was around but turns out you were supposed to get on that bus because there's nothing at the pier and no bus comes for another hour. We got our first taste of the beach there and finally boarded the bus to take us to Seopori Beach.

The drive was beautiful and the island looked deserted. We got to the beach and met a couple named Jessica and Sean. We relaxed for a bit then decided to find a place to stay and some lunch. We stayed at this hotel where we slept Korean-traditional styles on a yo mattress (similar to a futon) on the floor. The floor was heated by the ondol system and was not the most comfortable thing by far. But we got a great deal and after dropping off our bags we headed to the only restaurant open on the island where we met some locals.

The food we had was simliar to what we would order in the city (galbitang - beef soup and Samgyeopsal - bacon type served with veggies) but the food our Korean neighbors were having was definately something new. Shrimp-type bugs and octopus was their main course and being Korean they offered it to us. It is rude not to accept something that is given to you so with a deep breath we all tried this weird fish food and sucked on some octopus tentacles (see pic). It wasn't that bad and when washed down with Soju it all seems like a big adventure. Steph apparently looked like Brooke Shields to one guy and after asking for a picture and finding a pen for an autograph we moved on back to the beach.

It wasn't extremely sunny but nevertheless we got burnt to a crisp. We walked around the pier, took some funny photos and around dinner time enjoyed the pretzels Fedora brought from Canada and some Ramyeon (like Mr. Noodles). After dins we got some fireworks (so easily available) and some beer and headed down to the beach where two bonfires were going. We joined some other foreigners and some Koreans for a fireworks session. Koreans aren't really safe when it comes to fireworks as they aim then at people and also put their faces 2 cm from the fire. Fedora had to pull a Matrix style manoever to get away from a spiralling firework that a Korean set off while we took off. We headed back to the hotel and passed out on the floor.

May 14: We (K&S) woke up super early and headed out to the beach where there wasn't one person. It was so peaceful and gorgeous and the sun was already heating things up. The tide was out so we could walk out in the water forever! The rest of the morning was spent relaxing on the beach. We grabbed some lunch and headed back to the bus to get to the ferry terminal. When we arrived in Incheon we took the subway (sooo long) back to Itaewon (the foreigner area) where we grabbed a hotel and made our way to Rocky Mountain Tavern. We caught the last part of the Ottawa vs. Buffalo game to witness their loss and defeat in the series and some new Trailer park Boys. We enjoyed some Coors Light and Molson Canadian along with some good ol' pub food. We met some people who live near Fedora and another guy who lived in the area and conversed about our jobs and living in different countries. Hockey, beeers and an island...what could be better?!

May 15: Our school had a vacation today so we stayed in Seoul and took a bike ride along the Hangang River starting at Yeouido Park. We rented Tandem bicycles which was hilarious in itself but it wasn't until we tried to bike that the true hilariousness came about. We almost crashed into a cement block but once we got the hang of it we were like lightning and were using our bell to pass the slow-pokes. After an hour our asses kinda hurt so we headed back to Seoul station and grabbed the KTX to Dongdaegu Station. We went to COSTCO! We got spousal cards (2 for 1) since the language barrier prevents any awkward conversations and enjoyed shopping for animal crackers, Cheerios, Granola Bars and Salmon! With all our stuff we hopped back on the train to Busan and closed out our 3 day weekend with crispy sunburns and excited tummies!

Osaka & Kyoto Japan

2006-05-06T20:20:00.000+09:00

May 3rd - After work we went for our usual Sushi dinner and started the vacation off right with a little packing, a well thought out food poisoning plan and a few Sopporo's. This week just happened to be the busiest week in Japan and all of Asia (Golden Week and Buddha's Birthday) and leave it to us to neglect to book a hotel...and guess what!?! Yep everything was booked solid.. So we decided to fly by the seat of our pants and just wing it.

May 4th- We got up bright and early and bused it to the Gimhae airport where we jumped on a quick flight ( 1 hour, 15 mins) to Kansai Airport, just outside Osaka. Osaka, once the nation's capita is Japan's third-largest city (2.7 million people) and the commercial and industrial hub for Western Japan. The city presents visitors with an eclectic blend of the old the new and the unique. It is situated at the mouth of the Yodu River emptying into Osaka Bay and is famous for its down-to-earth citizens and hearty cuisine. Osaka combines historical and cultural attractions with all the delights of a Japanese urban phenomenon.

After arriving in Osaka and buying our JR railway pass we decided to worry about the lack of hotel thing later and check out the sites first. The sun was shining as we made our way to Shin Umeda City to see the Umeda Sky Building an amazingly modern piece of architecture. We took a glass elevator to the 35th floor where we jumped on the see-through escalator up to the roof where we checked out the Kuchu Teien Tenbodai or "The Floating Garden Observatory". 173 meters above the ground the 360 degree panaramic view of the city of Osaka was breathtaking.There was also a Cuban Festival going on so we checked that out too!

After the skybuilding we jumped on the subway bound for the symbol of Osaka, the Osaka Castle. Once the largest in Japan,the five-storied fortress was built in 1586 by Tyotomi Hideyoshi and is known for it's pure white walls and striking accents of glittering gold. We walked around the grounds and admired the colorful flowers, the beautiful castle and even took pictures with some funny looking guys in red warrior costumes.

Next we took an afternoon stroll around Nakano-Shima, a little island with riverside walkways, an oasis of trees and an awesome statue.

It was getting late so we decided to make our way back to Osaka Station to start the hotel search. We tried a few places with no luck, then just as we were beginning to get frustrated at our own stupidity, we walked into the Umeda OS Hotel with our fingers crossed. After telling us there was nothing available, the lady at the front desk inform us that there was an American guy in earlier in the same boat as us and she tried calling every single hotel in all of Osaka and there was not a single room available anywhere. UGHHHHH... then as she is breaking the bad news the manager hands her a key and says something in Japanese. Next thing we knew for a mere 14, 800 Yen ( about 150 dollars US...yikes!) we had a room! Let's just say we must have had a few horseshoes up our behinds... Anyways we dropped off our backpacks and headed out to Dotombori, Osaka's liveliest nightlife area for dinner and drinks. We arrived to a strip of arcades, shops and bright lights, with many dark narrow little streets darting off in every direction packed with restaurants and Japanese pubs. We walked around in awwwww looking for a sushi restuarant that grabbed our attention. Eventually we wandered right into a little place where we were greeted with screams and welcomes from the Japanese Sushi chefs. We sat at the bar style seats and ordered a few beers and watched our sushi man make the most incredible sushi we have ever had in our entire lives. Shrimp, Unagi, Salmon and tuna rolls to die for. MMMMMmmmmm... The atmosphere was amazing we screamed and yelled, cracked jokes and even drank beer with the staff. It was an incredible experience!! After dins we came across a little homemade crepe hut, where we enjoyed chocolate and hazlnut and choco banana melt in your mouth crepes.

We decided to jump on the train and head out to Takiyama to check out the Jazz festival. We walked around the streets, listened to a bit of Jazz and chatted with a group of foreigners working in the Kansai Area, before heading back to the hotel to call it a night. We were exhausted!!

May 5th - We got up very early to find ourselves another hotel for the night. Luckily we spotted a cheap one online and headed over there to check in. Steph hid in the lobby while Kel dropped off the stuff and checked into the single room at the APA Hotel:Osaka-Temma. And we were off to Kyoto for the day.

Kyoto (population- 1.4 million) home to treasures invaluable and traditions unsurpassed has natural scenery, temples, shrines, towns and homes intermingle with a poignant historical beauty. Whether it is the real Geisha's, the Tea Ceremony or Japanese flower arrangement, so many aspects of characteristic Japanese culture continue to thrive in Kyoto. Over a period of 1200 years, dating from the decision to move the capital to Kyoto in 794, it nurtured a splendid, delicate and unique kind of culture, and over the course of history came to be considered the mother of culture within Japan. For this reason, Kyoto is often called "Japan's heartland", and it is said that it is impossible to know the real Japan without knowing Kyoto.

After talking to the helpful tourist info guy we decided to do the west part on day 1. First stop was the Nijo Castle where we toured the Ninomaru Palace, built in 1603 and the home of the Tokugawa shogun on his rare visits to the city. The Castle had an impressive main gate, beautiful traditional Japanese gardens and of course the Nijo Castle. We walked along the nightingale floor ( wooden floors that squeaked to draw attention to intruders), saw the gorgeous screen wall paintings, the weapons rooms and the various rooms.

Next stop was the Kinkakuji-ji Temple, famous for its Golden Pavillion. The pavillion was built in 1397 as part of a new residence for the retired shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimitsu's death in 1408. The Golden Pavilion functions as shariden, housing sacred relics of the Buddha and is covered in gold leaf. The present building dates from 1955 as the pavilion was burnt by a fanatic monk in 1950. We walked around the grounds admiring the pavillion, the "mirror pond", the gardens, the pagoda, the tea house and even taking time to throw a coin and make a wish as well as ring a bell before moving onto Ryoanji Temple.

After entering the temple grounds we strolled past the beautiful Kyoyochi ("Mirror shaped") Pond, walked up the stairs past the famous stone water basin "Tsukubai" with the inscription "I learn only to be contented" (an important concept in Zen philosophy). Next we entered the main building where we sat and took in one of the masterpieces of Japanese culture: The Rock Zen Garden. The simple garden measures 25m from east to west and 10m from south to north. The garden contains 15 rocks arranged on the surface of white pebbles and it is up to each visitor to find out what the unique garden signifies to them. Its simple beauty is said to inspire philisophical meditation, and the rocks are set up in such a manner that visitors can see only 14 of them at once, no matter what angle the garden is viewed from. It is said that only when you attain spiritual enlightment as a result of deep Zen meditation, can you see the last invisible stone. Next to the rock garden was an impressive moss garden.

Feeling enligtened we continued our sunny walk to the Tram which took us right into the Arashiyama Area, where we took a private boat tour along the scenic Katsura River. The cruise was relaxing and our boat was even visited by a snack boat ( very convenient), so we grabbed a beer and some peanuts for the rest of our ride. On our way out we came across this hilarious Japanese guy who loved foreigners and after figuring out we were Canadians he insisted he take pics of us with his camera as well as opting for a photoshoot with ours. He wished us well and we headed back to Osaka for dinner.

We ate at a revolving train sushi restaurant...soooooooooo delicious...then we headed over to Hep 5 Ferris Wheel which starts at the 7th floor of a mall. We experienced Osaka at night from 106 meters above the city. And yeah we definatly mooned Osaka! hahaha...After the most amazing frozen yoghurt sundae we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

May 6th - We woke up early to another gorgeous, hot sunny day and jumped on the train for day 2 in Kyoto (central and east parts). Our first stop was the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Park. The Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho) was originally built in 794 and used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. The Palace was closed because of the holiday, but we walked around the grounds admiring the peaceful ponds and gorgeous gardens. We even made dandylion jewelery.

Next we headed to the Nishiki-koji Food Market. This full time market had every type of Japanese food you could imagine and the hustle and bustle around the narrow crowded streets was an amazing experience!

We kept walking along a busy street lined with little shops and restaurants. We decided to pick up some sushi and have a picnic. We walked through the Yasaka Shrine to a beautiful park (Maruyama Park), with a big pond complete with a stork and turtles as well as beautiful flowers and a mountain backdrop. We found a little bench beside a river to have our picnic. We had a few ducks join us and we fed them some rice while they took a bath in the river.

Feeling relaxed we headed for a walk through the road that leads to Mount Kiyomizu where we saw real Geisha's (Geiko's) walking around the narrow pedestrian streets. The word Geisha literally translates to "arts person" or "one trained in arts" (gei = art, sha = person). It is also sometimes described as "women of arts, which is exactly what a Geisha is - a woman trained in the traditional arts of Japan such as dance, music, singing to name a few. The word Geiko is another way of saying Geisha. It is predominately used by Geisha of the Kyoto districts. They were beautiful, and check out those platform sandals.

Next stop was Kiyomizu Temple famous for its wooden veranda jutting out over an exquisite valley offering a panoramic view of the city. Kiyomizudera ("Pure Water Temple") founded in 780, is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. On the way to the temple we walked up the steep and busy streets of the atmospheric Higashiyama district. When we got to the temple we walked through a brilliant orange gate, before walking around the grounds and taking in the view from the famous balcony.

After Kiyomizu we strolled down Hanamji-koji street towards Gion. A famous entertainment and Geisha district on the eastern bank of Kamo-gawa. We continued our walk along the Kamo river where we sat with a tea and took it all in, before hitting up another train style sushi restaurant for dinner. After dinner we headed back to Gion Corner - The Kyoto Traditional Musical Theatre to watch some traditional Japenese Entertainment. On the way we stopped at the largest tea house in Kyoto hoping to get another glimpse of a Geisha, but we got tired of waiting, so we continued on our way. The show started with a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, followed by some Koto Music ( The koto is a 13-stringed instrument kind of like a harp) and a demonstration on flower arrangement. Next was some court music called Gagaku which means "elegant music" and includes classical dancing, costumes, singing and instrumental music. Next was Kyogen an ancient comic play which was hilarious, then we watched a Geisha do a Kyoto style dance called Kyomai and lastly we got a little taste of the popular puppet play called Bunraku where 3 men in black bring a puppet to life with realistic actions and music.

After the play we went on a random adventure to find a Japanese bath called "Funaoka Onsen" supposedly the best in Kyoto. It was in the middle of nowhere and at one point we werent sure we would ever find it, but somehow even without a sign we did it. We relaxed in the indoor and outdoor baths, soaked our achining feet and chatted with some other travellers. Feeling amazing we grabbed a cab and headed back to Kyoto Station, where we got a glimpse of the Kyoto Tower before heading back to Osaka.

May 7th - We got up early, packed our stuff and headed to the airport. Another incredible trip!! We absolutly love Japan! Oh and we have great bandanas that say "Invinsible" in Japanese!!

Roof Top BBQ

2006-04-09T23:47:00.000+09:00

April 9: Serena and Ashley invited us over for a roof top BBQ! We joined the Gwangali Beach crew (a few subway stops from us) on the roof of their 12 story building for a little dinner soiree with the 9$ BBQ they bought from Mega Mart (like a Wal-Mart). The view of the beach and the bridge was beautiful - that is until it started raining. We tried to be troopers but the rain won and we climbed down the ladder back inside the apartment.

Shanghai, China

2006-04-03T17:39:00.000+09:00

March 31: We had a 3 day weekend and to make the most of it we invited ourselves to Shanghai to visit Steph's friend since Grade 3, Ashley Cameron. Laura, Kelly and Steph headed bright and early to the airport to catch our flight.

When we arrived, we hopped on the Maglev (Magnetic Levitation Train) from the airport into downtown Shanghai. This train takes only 7 minutes from the airport going at a top speed of 431km/h. It was crazy but saved us 1 hour of traffic in a cab through the city!

We then experienced the subway taking us to People's Square. We walked in the 20-degree weather down Nanjing Rd which is a pedestrian street lined with with shops and Pizza Hut's (we swear we saw about 50 on this one street). The funniest part was that one block would be sponsored by Coca-Cola and the next block would be filled with Pepsi advertising. This is the most bustling shopping centre in Shanghai stretching 2km leading you to the Bund. On one side of the broad highway (the Bund) stand 52 blocks of tall, magnificent buildings with different architectural styles. On the other side is the wide embankment, on the Huangpu - mother river of Shanghai. From the bank we could see the Oriental Pearl Tower which is 468m high and is the highest in Asia and the third highest in the world. The tower consists of 15 spheres of different sizes at different levels creating the conception of "large and small pearls dropping onto a jade plate". The Jinmao Tower stood next to the Pearl Tower as the tallest building in Shanghai. At the end of the Bund we were directed to walk across the Yuyuan Garden which reminded us of Central Park in NYC. It was the only luscious green patch of grass in the area.

This led us through to Shanghai Old Street which is located on Fangbang Raod (insert your own sick joke here as we did many times) is 825m long. The architecture and layout of the street displays the historical and cultural evolution during a period from the Ming, Qing Dynasties to the Chinese Republic when Western culture infiltrated into Shanghai. It was so different from the rest of the city as it had asian-influenced architecture and the most history. In the middle there was this huge complex housing numerous silk shops and souvenir stands. All the stores were in historical buildings and the narrow passageways made you feel lost at every turn. The highlight was this fabulous walkway that led you through this fish-filled pond to the other end of the street. We headed toward Fuxing Park and met some fun Volcom reps along the way. When we go t to the park we were entertained by this group of elderly men and women who were ballroom dancing. Kelly and Steph took part and then a Chinese woman taught Steph how to do it the 'right way'. We saw men playing board games and talked to some interesting people before heading up to Jing'An station where we met up with Ashely.

We met her roomies Kate and Hilary and settled in. For dinner we tasted authentic Chinese food which is delicious and drenched in oil. We then got ready for a night on the town which started at a warehouse where 'the boys band' (the boyfriends of all the girls) were playing. We then headed to Windows Scoreboard and followed that up by Windows Two which was a dance bar filled with foreigners. It was pourring rain and after 24 hours of being awake we all crashed feeling excited for the next days activities!

April 1: We were craving some American-style breakfast and luckily Ashely knew just the spot. We enjoyed omelettes and coffees. We then headed out to the markets where we could bargain for everything! We found the Xiang Yang Fashion & Gift Market and were truly unprepared for what we were to experience. The place was jam packed with everything from Dior sunglasses to Balenciaga leather hand bags to Chanel make-up. We spent a couple of hours bargaining for sunglasses, make-up, clothes and North Face backpacking backpacks. After exhausting our skills at this market we moved to an underground shopping mall where we continued our shopping frenzy. When we were completely physically exhausted we ordered pizzas and salad and chilled at Ashley's.

April 2: With a great night's rest we went for lunch at Moon River Diner where we had the BEST turkey club sandwiches ever (for everyone who knows us we are the clubhouse masta's so this is a bold statement). It was another gorgeous day and with full tummies we hit up Zara and then to a fabulous underground shopping market where we bought shoes, shirts, dressses, and wigs (yes, we bought wigs.). On the way home we stopped by a DVD place where we bought all discs for less than $1 a piece. With a total of about 100 DVD's between Kelly and Steph and multiple seasons including new Nip Tuck, 24, Lost 2 and Prison Break - we were excited for new movies (most are brand new and perfect condition) and even more excited that it costs us next to nothing!

That night we went on a Huangpu River boat cruise. We got all decked out and enjoyed some cocktails while we floated by the beautiful 'wonderland' of lights and sights. Dinner was at a fabulous upscale restaruant called Mesa. The atmosphere and food were amazing and we treatred ourselves to fish and lamb. Afterwards we went for a few drinks with Ashley's friends near her house before heading back to the house to pack our stuff. Good thing we bought the big backpacks because they were full coming back home!

April 3: Another early morning got us to the airpoirt on time (this time by cab) and it was hilarious fighting with the baggage guys to let us on the plane with our backpacks. When we lost the argument (we didn't want to check them to save time) we were smooth sailing onto the flight. It wasn't until we were about to take-off that they announced we were leaving 25 minutes later than expected.

Normaly this would be no problem but of course, we had to work when we got back to Busan. Kelly had to work at 1pm and with the flight leaving on time we would have a grace peiod of 25 minutes if everything went as planned. SO - Kelly was having a bit of a heart attack and after we landed we raced through customs and waited for our bags. Steph's bag came out first and Kelly's bag was the last to come off the plane (of course!). By the time we left he airport we had 35 minutes to get to work. Normally it takes at least 45 minutes from the airport to our apartment but with a little 'balli balli' (fast, fast) to our cab driver Kelly was able to make it to ECC with no more than 3 minutes before her classes began (phew). It was hilarious and all at the same time. We heart China!

Busan Lotte Hotel Show

2006-03-27T21:05:00.000+09:00

March 26: We heard about this from our co-worker who said that the Lotte Hotel (one of the top hotels in Busan) put on a great cabaret style show. After a dinner at VIPS restaurant we decided to check it out and luckily saw the grand opening of its 10th season. Titled FANTASY, the origins of culture and the history of Korea and China are brought together on stage. The Korean part was an expresion of the true spirit of Korea and the sheer beauty of Korean Dance including a phenomenal Jindo Drum Dance. The Chinese part was the eternal haven of peace for humanity, the beautiful and mysterious ocean that is sublimated into an Immoral Masterpiece through a young girl's dream. Highlights included hoop diving, aerial stunts with a trampoline and two poles where acrobats would hold themselves at 90 degree angles on a pole, an ice ballet on real ice, human balancing (similar to what we saw in China) and a group bicycle act.

As the show started and our one glass of complimentary wine was drained we thought it was appropriate and a 'when in Rome' situation to purchase a bottle of champagne. Our booth (with only the two of us) had a table full of booze, free dsessert compliments of the chef, and a funny-looking balloon animal (we think it was supposed to be a weiner dog) that was given to us during the intermission by the show's jester. We waited for everyone to pile out at the end and since we weren't done our champagne we watched the cast take pictures on stage. We were thrilled to be invited to take some pictures with the hoop jumpers and aerial stuntmen. On our way out we toured the lobby which took on the appearance of a gorgeous rain forest and met a couple of Americans who we enjoyed a few more drinks with (because the wine and champagne wasn't enough). A fantastic night on the town!

Jinjuseong (Castle)

2006-03-19T21:25:00.000+09:00

March 19 : Steph headed to Jinju for the weekend and got to check out the entire Jinju city and its surrounding counties by scooter! Erik drove Steph 'the coffee girl' around on a gorgeous day to the mountains and around the city. We stopped for drinks at a restaurant on the out-skirts of the city and made our way to Jinju Castle.

One of the only sites to see in Jinju are large grounds that were built to keep out the Japanese. In 1592, General Kim Simin got a great victory against the 30,000 Japanese Army. In the June of the next year 100,000 Japanese troops attacked again and captured Jinjuseong, leaving more than 70,000 soldiers and civiliens dead. The entire length of the castle is 1,760 meters and the height is from 5 to 8 meters. In Jinjuseong, there are pavillions, shrines, temples and the National Museum. The most interesting part was the Uiam (the rock Steph is standing nex to) that is a tribute to Nongae who thre herself with the Japanese general into the river during the Japanese invasion. We watched a cool 3D movie and lay outside to enjoy the sunshine :)

St.Patty's Day

2006-03-17T21:59:00.000+09:00

March 17th: Happy St. Patty's Day!!! After work we got decked out in our hand made St.Patty's Day tank tops, green make up and shamrocks and met up with Jordan for dinner at this little sandwich place and then headed to the only Irish Pub in Busan: O'Brien's Pub! The bar was packed with foreigners all pretending to be Irish and out for a good time! The beer was flowing... the tequilla and numerous irish car bombs... We met lots of fun people and partied the night away!

Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival

2006-03-11T17:25:00.000+09:00

March 11 th: Kelly got someone to cover her saturday classes and we decided to check out the Bullfighting Festival in Cheongdo. Yes we know very random..who goes to see Bullfighting in Korea?!?...Apparently we were not the only ones..15,000 Koreans, a few foreigners and bulls from around the world make for one great experience!

Kel met Ashley and Serena and headed to Busan Station to grab the train to Cheongdo. About an hour later we arrived in the middle of nowhere and followed the signs to the festival grounds. Steph and Erik were running a bit late so they caught the next train and we met them there.

When we arrived we were given the typical Korean visors and set off to explore the grounds. It was a beautiful hot day!!! There was a huge ring packed with observers watching enormous bulls push, head batt and battle until one had enough and ran off, declaring the other the champ. Bullfighting in Korea is very different than Spain or anywhere else. Here they dont kill the bulls after they fight, its more of a "my bull is better than your bull" type of competition. As we sat in the stadium we couldnt help but laugh at the fact that the vendors were selling squid, soju and rice crackers...a far cry from our good old' hotdogs, pretzels and beer.

The festival also featured a typical agricultural folk festival. They had an exhibition hall highlighting farming life, an art exhibit, a Persimmon tent ( red, sweet, soft, juicy fruit), lots of stores with little nick nacks and of course a huge food court. We walked around the grouds and saw full pigs spinning round and round on spits, pasta man was making fresh pasta noodles from scratch, live seafood in tanks and a whole bunch of traditional Korean food.

There was a Korean Folk Band playing tunes and The mascots of the festival Cow and Bunga were running around. We even took pictures in the PhotoZone..an area set up where you could put your head in a hole and be part of the action. We even took some pics with live bulls... After walking around we found our selves a place in the ring to watch the opening ceremonies. Dancers, singers, mascots and bands played the bulls were paraded around the ring and lots of Koreans made speeches. Then they released hundereds of balloons, some purple and green smoke and the festivities were officially underway! We got interviewed for some Korean TV, and our pictures taken right left and center... I guess a couple of white girls at a Bullfightining festival in Korea is pretty exciting to them! We watched the Korea vs. Japan fights as well as the Korean Bulls "Big Match..King of KIngs".

Near the end of the match we caught up with Steph, Erik and three people (Mitch, Ken and Heran) who they met on the train on the way up to have some spicy beef soup and a few beers. Then we headed back to the train station and back home to Busan. Another hilarious, very random Korean experience! Good Times!

Muju Ski Resort

2006-02-26T20:05:00.000+09:00

February 26th: At 4am we awoke and layered on the clothes, grabbed our tuques, and filled our mugs with Bailey's and Hot Chocolate. Our bus was leaving from Seomyeon (about 20 minutes from us by taxi) at 5:30am for its departure to Muju Ski Resort. The limousine bus took 3 hours to get there and we were shocked at the surroundings. There wasn't a single snowflake on the roads or trees but the slopes had what seemed to be a little bit of snow. Among the mass amounts of people we managed to figure out how to pick up our lift tickets, get our snowboard and boot rentals and even get some snow pants. We were set to hit the slopes and as soon as we walked outside we saw what was possibly the funniest thing that entire day. A Korean woman on the bunny hill got going a little too fast on her skis and fell - but kept falling all the way into the ski school standing by the lodge. We paused to laugh our asses off, take a few pictures and thank Korea as a country for having the most uncoordinated people. We knew this day was going to be hilarious!
The weather was not very good early on - there was lots of fog which meant the upper part of the mountain was closed. The hills were slick but not too icy and we actually had a great couple of runs early on. We watched a dog sled race from the chair lift and giggled at the millions of people having lessons on the bunny hills.
One of the chairs had this automatic moving carpet that took you right to the perfect pick up place... oh and Korean snowboarders avoid the somewhat tricky getting on and off the chiar lift, by never putting their board on in the first place..they sit on the chiar and hold their board in their arms and then run off at the top... its pretty hilarious! we tried it..good thing the drop off place is pretty flat or it would be a little crazy! We'll stick to the regular way thanks!
In the afternoon the fog began to clear and the sun came out in full force! We stopped at the bottom for a little outdoor lunch, nothing like Deok-poki (rice cake in a spicy red sauce) and some oranges. MMMMMmmmmm... We did a little tanning talked to some funny Koreans and then headed back to the slopes. The top chair was open, so we headed all the way up. At the top was an asian style chalet and temple like place with an incredible view. The runs at the top were really icy, so we did one and then parked it at a chalet half way up and had a beer out on the deck and caught a few more rays. We took the Gondora down..yes the Gondora!! lol We did a few more runs and then called it a day..returned our stuff and jumped on the bus. It was a great day in the fresh air..we are very impressed with Muju..and the Koreans made us laugh all day! Good times!

EK Graduation

2006-02-23T09:04:00.000+09:00

February 23: This evening our EK-7's (the oldest of the kindergarten kids) graduated from the ECC Cartoon Network Kindergarten Program. For 2.5 hours all the kindergarten children spoke, sang, danced and put on a fabulous show all from memory! Nothing was more priceless than seeing our youngest (5 years old) kids remembering complicated dance moves in elephant costumes that showed their bellies.

The funniest moment was Daniel (5 years old and on the very right of the picture below) - possibly the cutest kid at school - had to go to the bathroom halfway through one of his dance numbers. He has a history of not being able to hold it for very long so when we saw him start dancing around unlike the other kids and crossing his legs - we knew that we didn't have much time. Luckily enough, he made it through to the end and his mom whisked him away. We felt like their parents and were so proud of them. The graduates will now return to ECC for afternoon classes.

After the show we went out to celebrate the departure of one of our favorite Korean teachers - Stella. She is going back to get a masters in education from a university in Busan so hopefully we will still see her! We went to a bar close by and the whole crew enjoyed some beer, fresh fruit, and some weird squid snacks. They (the Koreans) even ordered chicken a$$holes which are quite a popular dish in Korea. We didn't try it but it's apparently quite good (barf).

Full Moon Party 2006

2006-02-12T17:53:00.000+09:00

February 12: After a rough night on the town with our Daegu friend Jarid and our Ulsan friends fromour trip to Beijing, we headed out for a day on the beach - that's right..we were in the water! This event marks the arrival of the first full moon of the year and a time for everyone to come and wish for happiness for the upcoming year.

The day hosted numerous of events but the highlights were the Kite-flying contest, the beautiful calligraphy of a Korean artist and the burning of a massive bonfire. The bonfire was a 3-story pile of brush on the beach. They prayed and said some words in Korean before the millions of people watched as it was lit with torches from underneath. The brush burned intensely for 1.5 hours and the amount of smoke that it created looked as if the entire city was burning down. Thick enough that you could barely see the full moon behind it, the smoke billowed while spectators shot off fireworks into the star-lit sky. We took part in this event and of course we almost shot the fireworks at ourselves - we had bit of debris in our hair to prove it. It was amazing and a real tribute to Korean culture.

On the walk home we walked past old-Korean woman praying on the beach and lighting candles for prayer. On our way to the subway we were thrilled to see a sky filled with fireworks as a finale to the day.

First Snowfall!

2006-02-08T17:45:00.000+09:00

February 8: We were doubting whether Busan was ever going to get snow. The weather was warming up and we actually were preparing for Spring when one night between 1am and 8am the weather shifted course and we received a couple cm's of snow!. We took this picture konwing that it wouldn't last (as you can tell there is no more snow on the ground just on the car) and sure enough by the end of the day it was gone and the rain came in. Still...we had snow!

Beijing, China

2006-02-04T22:42:00.000+09:00

January 28: Lunar New Year is the most celebrated yearly event in Asia. It is a time where families come together to make wishes for the new year and celebrate the past. Where else could you truly experience Lunar New Year or the Chinese New Year than in China's capital - Beijing. Stef, Kelly, their two co-workers Mark and Wes and 56 other foreigners from Busan and surrounding areas took part in Kangsan Travel's (the English speaking travel agency in Busan) all-inclusive package to Beijing, China.

We met our group at the airport and less than 4 hours later we had arrived in Beijing. The Chinese script and the red lanterns were the first things to catch our eyes as we traveled through the city on our luxury bus, fully equipped with a fabulous english-speaking Chinese tour guide named Jason and a weird screeching sound from under the bus that never wanted to quit. Beijing has over 14 million people making it the second largest city in China next to Shanghai. It is the country's capital and it's english-speaking level is sub-par compared to the other asian countries.

Temple of Heaven: The first stop was where only the Emperor of China was able to go to get closesr to God. The large circle in the middle of an enclosed square had historic references to the Emperor's number - 9. There were 9 steps up to the next level and 9 blocks extending outwards from the very middle the entire way around. The centre was a small raised circle where the Emperor would stand and make his wishes for his country. This point is said to be the highest point in all of China and where you can be the closest to the heavens. Nobody except for the Emperor was to command this spot and it was amazing to be able to stand where he once did and be the closest in all of China to the heavens above.

Mongolian BBQ: Many of the restaurants we ate at served food at 10-person tables with a lazy-susan in the middle. We received our first taste of Mongolian food which included meat skewers, vegetables in delicious sauces, egg soups, and of course rice. We met 5 really cool people from Ulsan (about 45 minutes from Busan) and we ended up spending the rest of the trip hanging out and having a wicked time. It was at this dinner that the fireworks (details below) began.

Acrbatic Show: We were treated to a real Chinese art form - acrobatics. Ranging in age from 12 to 21 - a cast of acrobats amazed us with their incredible flexibility and astounding strength. Highlights included two men that could balance themselves on each other in numerous ways and even jump up and down pillars upside down, on one hand, and switching hands mid-way. Chinese spinning plates, ball-balancing, glass chandelier balancing, putting 14 people on 1 bike, and work with large sheets (spinning themselves upwards and dropping themselves) was breath-taking. A fantastic show!

The Hotel & Fireworks: We stayed at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing. To our surprise the hotel was incredible, the sheets and pillows were heavenly the rooms were awesome! Not to mention they had a killer American-style breakfast buffet! So we lived it up..the first night we had some drinks with our new friends and then headed back to our room where we put on some robes, ordered room service and watched hours and hours of amazing fireworks dance in the sky to bring in the year of the dog. Happy New Year!!!

January 29th: Day two of our trip started at 6:30 am and continued as follows:

Jade Carving Factory: Jade is considered by the Chinese to be the most important type of raw material in existence, even more so than gold. That's because it takes many years to find, transport, and develop into jewelry and other items. We received a lesson about how to distinguish real jade from fake jade and it basically comes down to when you holdl it up to the light there should be no air bubbles in it and when you hit the jade there should be a high pitch/clear sound. We saw jade carvers in the shop and were set free in the shop to test and buy jade. We bought Family Ball's which are carved from one piece of jade from the inside out and encompass 4 balls that can move independently. It represents that although family can be apart and moving independently they are still inside the family, and will always be connected.

The Great Wall of China: One of the 7 Wonders of the World - there was pure excitement running through our bus as we headed 45 minutes from the city towards our next adventure. It was at the West Gate of the Wall where we spent 1.5 hours climbing up steep shallow stairs, pausing at every watch-tower to gaze out at the out-stretched wall that ran off farther than we were able to see. The trek was tiring but well-worth it. When we reached the top the sun came out from behind the clouds and we celebrated our climb with our fellow tour-members. Words cannot describe what we saw but we can say that it was the most overwhelming/amazing experience we have ever had.

History of the Wall: The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the section of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared.

The construction of the Great Wall began between the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. when the warring states built defensive walls to ward off enemies from the north. It was only a regional project then. Until the Qin Dynasty, the separate walls were joint together and consequently it stretched from east to west for about 5000 thousand kilometers and served to keep nomadic tribes out. The Wall was further extended and strengthened in the succeeding dynasties. Especially during the Ming dynasty when the northern nomadic ethnic groups became very powerful, the Ming rulers had the Wall renovated 18 times. As a result, not the remains from the Qin dynasty were restored, but some 1000 kilometers were constructed to a full length of 6,700 kilometers.

The original wall took about ten years to finish and the wall stretched from Linzhao (in the eastern part of today's Gansu Province) in the west to Liaodong (in today's Jilin Province) in the east. The wall not only served as a defence in the north but also symbolized the power of the emperor during the Qin Dynasty. The present Great Wall is mainly remains from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) where its main purpose was to prevent attack from the north (Mongolians).

Lunch & Cloisonne Art Tour: Before lunch we got a tour of the Cloisonne factory(a type of vase). The guide showed us each step in the process, including the time consuming hand carving, detailed painting and the incredible attention to detail, a lengthy process that makes each and every masterpiece one of a kind. Cloisonne, named as enamelware, originated in Beijing during theYuan Dynasty and prevailed during the Jingtai period (1450-1456) of theMing Dynasty. It's typically called :Blue of Jingtai" as blue was the dominant color used for enameling. Cloisonne ware was only used for the royal families because it was the symbol of authority and status. Cloisonne is the everlasting art and loved by the people of the world. After lunch and a taste of China's soju or saki ( a.k.a. Hell in a bottle) we browsed the huge show room filled with various examples of the colorful art.

The Ming Tombs: 50 kilometers northwest from Beijing City lies the Ming Tombs - the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of each of the many emperors. The Chinese believed the existence of an after-world, where the dead "lived" a life similar to that of the living, Ming emperors, therefore, had grand mausoleums built for themselves. Each tomb is located at the foot of a separate hill and is linked with the other tombs by a road called the Sacred Way. The stone archway at the southern end of the Sacred Way, built in 1540, is 14 metres high and 19 metres wide, and is decorated with designs of clouds, waves and divine animals. Our guide explained to us a little bit about Feng Shui, The Chinese believed that the best place to rest was between a mountain and a body of water, so all the tombs were build with mountains behind and water in front.
We saw the Dingling Tomb, the tomb of Emperor Wanli (reigned 1573-1619), the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, whose personal name was Zhu Yijun. The tomb was completed in six years (1584-1590), it occupies a total area of 1,195 square meters at the foot of Dayu Mountain southwest of the Changling Tomb.
We also saw the Changling tomb, the tomb of emperor Yongle (reigned 1403-1424), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty whose personal name was Zhu Di. Built in 1413, the mausoleum extends over an area of 100,000 square metres. The soul tower, which tells people whose tomb it is, rests on a circular wall called the "city of treasures" which surrounds the burial mound. The "city of treasures" at Changling has a length of more than a kilometre.

We wandered around the tombs and walked through a museum higlighting a collection of artifacts from the 13 Emperors. There were colorful silk robes, crowns, jewlery and pottery. The room was held up by enormous wooden pillars, each made from a single tree trunk. And in the middle of the room was a huge statue of an Emperor.

The Tea Shop "Dr. Tea": Chinese people are believed to have enjoyed tea drinking for more than 4,000 years. Legend has it that Yan Di, one of three rulers in ancient times, tasted all kinds of herbs to find medical cures. One day,as he was being poisoned by some herb he had ingested; a drop of water from a tea tree dripped into his mouth and he was saved.
Tea tasting has cultural meaning. All to show the ultimate goal of Chinese culture: the harmonious unity of human beings with nature.
We arrived at the tea house and were taken into a small room where we were given a presentation about various types of tea and there effedcts on the body, we also got to try them all. Each tea had a medicinal purpose for example the white tea is good for dispelling the effects of alcohol and nicotine and also acts on colds coughs and sore throats, whereas the Jasmine tea can drive away summer heat and improve eyesight, as well as shake off drowsiness and relieve headache. We bought assortment of tea and the highlight was receiving a free pee-pee boy ( a little clay boy who only pees when the water temperature is just right ensuring the perfect cup of tea).

The Legend Of KungFu: At 7:30pm we entered the Red Theater for "The Most Exciting Kungfu Show in the World" despite our shitty seats the show was incredible. It was a musical taking place in an acient temple where we encounter a little boy. Through practicing KungFu and Zen he becomes a master and finally after many obstacles reaches the sacred goal of enlightment. The show was put on by real Kungfu monks and had dance, music and real martial arts all mixed into an incredible story without a single word. The show left us all speechless as we headed back to the hotel to relax with a massage and some more room service. Good thing everything in China costs were pennies! Goodnight!

January 30th: Day three of our trip started bright and early...

The Summer Palace: The Summer Palace is the largest imperial garden in the world occupying an area of about 300 hectares. It is a veritable museum of classical Chinese garden architecture. The initial construction of the Summer Palace began in 1750, commissioned by Emperor Qinglong as a gift for his mother's birthday. The construction took 15 years to complete. The plundering of foreign troops in 1860 destroyed most of the buildings, but they were renovated in 1888 by Empress Dowager Cixi. The name in Chinese, Yiheyuan, means "garden of restful peace." It served as a suburban pleasance for emperors, a place in the countryside yet near the capital.
We walked around the grounds, played on the frozen lake and admired the 150 meter long 17 Arch Bridge which was built in 1750 by the Qing emperor Qianlong. It links the eastern edge of Kunming lake with the Dragon King Temple on Nanhu (or Penglai) islet, the rationale behind the span having 17 arches has to do with Chinese numerology. The number eight is a homonym for luck or wealth in Mandarin Chinese. The ninth arch, the largest, is considered the number most auspicious for emperors, thus the Son of Heaven is symbolically positioned in the middle of good fortune on both sides. The span is partially patterned after the famed Marco Polo Bridge in southwest Beijing. There are 544 stone lions on the railings.

The Pearl Factory: Nearby to the Summer Palace was the Pearl Factory. Inside we were given a demonstration of how to get pearls from an Oyster. She took a large live oyster from the tank, cracked him open (killing him), and showed us that each oyster contains not 1 pearl like most of had guessed but around 40 pearls. It was incredible! We were also guided about how to distinguish real pearls from fake pearls. Basicallyif you rub two pearls together and you hear a gritty sand sound then it's real and if you rub two pearls together then wipe the pearls on your hand a light powder should transfer from the pearl onto your hand. We were also surprised to find out that real pearls come in white, pink, black and even a purple color!

Tiananmen Square: Another highlight of our tour was the famous Tian Men Square, which is adjacent to one of the gates of the Forbidden City.

It is on the southern edge of the Inner or Tatar City. The square, named for its Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), contains the monument to the heroes of the revolution, the Great Hall of the People, the museum of history and revolution, and the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic in the square on Oct. 1, 1949, an anniversary still observed there.

A massive demonstration for democratic reform, begun there by Chinese students in Apr., 1989, was brutally repressed on June 3 and 4. It was initiated to demand the posthumous rehabilitation of former Communist Party Chairman Hu Yaobang. The government was tolerant until after his funeral; then Deng Xiaopang denounced the protests. The demonstrators were joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, until over a million people filled the square. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang expressed sympathy, but lost out to Deng, who supported the use of military suppression. Martial law was declared on May 20. The protesters demanded that the leadership resign, but the government answered on the nights of June 3 and 4 with troops and tanks, killing thousands to quell a "counterrevolutionary rebellion." Zhao was dismissed and a number of the student leaders were arrested.

In the middle of the big Tiananmen Square, there is a big monument. It is the Monument to the People's Heroes (Renmin Yingxiong Jinianbei). The monument is 37 metres high and made of granite. On it is an inscription of Mao Zedong: The People's Heroes are immortal.

We walked around the enormous square in absolute awwwwww...we bought ourselves some chinese flags and continued on our way throught the gate to the forbidden city.

Forbidden City: Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called gugong, in Chinese, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is called the Palace Museum now. It lies 1 kilometer north of the Tian'anmen Square, with its south gate, the Gate of Devine Might (Shenwumen), facing the Jingshan Park. 960 meters long and 750 meters wide, the world largest palace complex covers a floor space of 720,000 square meters, having 9,999 buildings. The rectangular city is encircled in a 52-meter-wide, 6-meter-deep moat and a 10-meter-high, 3,400-meter-long city wall which has one gate on each side.

Until 1924 when the last emperor in China was driven out of the Inner Court, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Construction of the palace complex started in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, and was completed 14 years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including 100,000 artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor (24 hours a day for 14 years).

Since yellow is the symbol of the royal family, it is the dominant color in the Forbidden City. Roofs are built with yellow glazed tiles; decorations in the palace are painted yellow; even the bricks on the ground are made yellow in special process. However, there is one exception. Wenyuange, the royal library, has a black roof. The reason is that it was believed black represented water then and could extinguish fire.

After walking two hours through this enormous complex some of our tour-mates were pleased to see that even the Forbidden City had a Starbucks! (the only outside business to have made its way inside the walls). It was also interesting to note that once you entered the Forbiddeen City you could not leave - so the Emperor who had thousands of women at one time was required to house these women even after he died.
There were three main parts to the city. The first was the administration:the place where the emperor met with his political guestsfor business. The second part was the living quarters and the third was an incredible garden. What an incredible place!

Beijing Duck: Beijing is known for their duck and we were able to taste this glazed delight for lunch. It was tasty and genearlly served by wrapping a thin rice paper filled with veggies and a tangy sauce around the duck and eaten with your hands. Yummy!

Yashiu Market: We were skeptical when they said we were going to spend 3 hours at this indoor market but once we walked in we were amazed at the thousands of booths filled to brim with everything from Abercrombie sweats to North Face jackets to silk tablecloths. We bought 2 North Face jackets for 34$ (fully lined and even with a zip-out fleece), silk tablecloths, huge Chinese script scrolls, D&G shirts, and somuch more! If we had planned it better and brought more money we would have bought TONS more but our Visa's and Debit Cards were not working and you cannot change Korean money anywhere in China. Basically, we were in a shopping heaven with no money...every woman's nightmare! Guess we have to go back!

Reflexology: Our day ended with amazing 1.5 hour reflexology massages delivered right to our room. For a mere $20 each we had two masseuses give us traditional reflexology massages , which even included a foot soaking leaving us feeling ...well...'relaxed' after a long day. To top it off we ordered room service before packing up our things for our early departure the next morning.

Our flight left at 8:30 am which meant our wake up call was at 5am. We said good-bye to China (for now) and returned to Korea having felt that this was the best trip we have ever taken (although we say that every time we go away!) Happy Lunar New Year! We love China!!!

World Cup Stadium

2006-01-23T18:22:00.000+09:00

January 21: Steph had to take a 'business trip' up to Seoul for a conference and convinced Erik to come along! We visited the World Cup Stadium where FIFA 2002 was held (one of the ten stadiums in Korea and Japan). We were able to tour the entire grounds and even had time for the interactive museum where we got to play goalie and have our own private tour guide!

That night we went to Rocky Mountain Tavern (the Canadian owned expat bar) where Erik actually ran into somebody who was in his first-year class at University and we ended up watching a live NHL hockey game :) We toured around Hongik university area, Erik got a cool Korean haircut, saw some cool little shops and then headed back the next night. Short but definately sweet!

TOKYO, JAPAN

2006-01-03T22:22:00.000+09:00

December 30th 2005- We got up at the crack of dawn and took the bus to Gimhae International Airport for our 11am flight to Tokyo, Japan!!!! The highlight of the flight was a wonderful sushi lunch. We arrived at the enormous Narita International Airport (the major airport for all of Tokyo) around 1pm. Tokyo has a population of 12.2 million and is the bustling heart of the Japanese economic dynamo. We quickly realized that nothing we have learnt in Korea would help us in Japan.

Our first goal was to navigate our way to the hostel in Azabu-Juban. Three trains, a subway and 2 hours later we arrived at Guess T House, our International backpackers hostel. We walked into the lounge area to find it packed with travellers all ready to party!

We left our stuff and headed to the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel ( one of the most renound hotels in the world) for the best view in town. The subway system in Tokyo is nothing short of complicated, there are 15
lines spanning the city, all color coded and numbered for "easy use" hahahah...not so easy...but we did pretty well for ourselves. The gorgeous Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel was featured in the movie "Lost in Translation". We zipped up to the 51st floor (a restaurant/lounge with an enormous skylight) for an incredible nightime view of Tokyo. The lights seemed to go forever. We also checked out the famous 54th floor New York bar.

We met up with Tim at the hostel, picked up some beer and hung out in the lounge with the hostel gang. Among them were a group of 10 Aussie guys who were in Tokyo for a few days and then heading to Sopporo (Northern Japan) to ski for 10 days, a crazy Finnish guy, three Canadian girls who were teahing in Japan and a bunch of other randoms! Many beer runs to the corner store left us happy chilin at the hostel for the night.

December 31st 2005- Morning came quickly and ironically enough we went for breakfast at the New York Bagel Cafe. Our first stop on tour of the city was Asakusa which is long considered the heart of old Shitamachi. In Edo times (when Japan was split) Asakusa was a halfway stop between the city and its most infamous pleasure district, Yoshiwara. We strolled a beautiful outdoor market street seeling tourist trinkets to yummy Sembei (rice crackers). At the end of the chaos there was Senso-ji. The Nakamise-dori leads to the main temple compound where there is a large incense caludron: the smoke is said to bestow health and we saw and participated in rubbing it into our bodies through our clothes. Senso-ji enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). You enter through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) protected by Fujin, the god of wind on the right and Raijin the god of thunder, on the left. After throwing coins into the wishing well we walked around the grounds and saw Senso-ji's Five-Storeyed Pagoda and surrounding gardens.

We wandered out into the streets of Asakusa. Thinking we could get a great view of the entire temple from a hotel, we entered the Asakusa Hotel and cleverly made our way to the top floor. Telling them we were checking out that day and needed a picture, we convinced them to open up a closed banquet room so we could get a great view of Asakusa. We saw a crazy casino/arcade where they pretty much played a version of Plinko, posters of porn, and massive super-hero statues. We heard about this Beer Museum so naturally we headed out to find it. Ebisu Garden Place was a complex of shops, restaurants, and the headquarters of Sapporo Breweries containing the Beer Museum (which unfortunately was closed because of New Years) and the Beer Station. We enjoyed a Sapporo before we headed back to "our" area, grabbed some wine and sushi, and got ready for NYE.

We were having such a blast at the hostel that we didnt realize how late it was getting, so we all frantically jumped on the subway to YEBISU '06 which was supposed to be a huge party with live music, dj's and 10,000 people. Anyways we arrived around 11:30pm and they were sold out..we tried everything in the book to get the guy to let us in, but we were unsuccessful. So we ended up doing our very own NYE countdown outside in the line for the party. Tim brought party hats, noise makers and everything we needed for a great NYE celebration! Thanks Tim!We then decided we didnt want to spend New Years in a line all night so we headed to a bar acroos the street for some "Sake" (rice wine brewed for centuries in Japan). Next stop on the party train was Roppongi to a club called GAS PANIC!!!!! A third story hole in the wall rammed with people. We danced all night and despite the masses Steph and i managed to end up dancing on the main bar!!! On the way home we took the scenic route and saw the Tokyo Tower all lite up, flashing 2006 (Tokyo Tower is a mini version of the Eiffel tower standing at 330m). We headed back to the hostel to hang out a little more then we hit the bunks around 7:30am! Happy New Year!!!!

January 1st 2006- After 2 solid hours of sleep we got up and headed to Shinjuku a sprawling business, commercial and entertainment centre that never lets up. Everyday approximatly two million people pass through the station alone making it one of the busiest in the world. On the western side is Tokyo's highest concentration of skyscrapers and on the eastern side a warren of department stores, restaurants, boutiques neon and sleaze. We walked around and grabbed some lunch. We checked out Takashimaya Times Square and the busy little shopping streets.

Next stop was Harajuku another trendy, alternative area where on weekends you can see cos-play-zoku a costume play gang ( a bunch of bullied teenage girls who on weekends alter their identities by dressing in gothic mixed with S&M and dominatrix). We went shopping at a great second hand store, browsed the many tents of food lining the streets ( they had everything including octopus, noodles, sweet pancakes and mystery meat of all kinds) and checked out the famous Condomania before heading to the Meji-jingu shrine.

We arrived at the entrance to find thousands of people walking the lantern lit lane leading to the shrine. we waited in cue to enter throught the famous gates to perform the New Year traditions. The Japanese all visit a shrine on January 1st to make a wish for health and good fortune for the new year. They write their wishes on a wooden plaque and then get a fortune/poem that they read and then tie onto a closeline type of wire lining the path from the temple. They also purchase arrows, some sort of symbol for the new year. After observing this tradition we headed back to the hostel to get reasy for dinner.

We met up with our Finnish friends and ate dinner at La Boheme, and then headed out in search of a place to party. Oddly enough the busiest city in the world was peacful, leaving us with one great party place GAS PANIC 2 where we had a few drinks and moved onto Karaoke. The place had 7 floors, all private rooms. Good thing it was all you could drink because a little liquid courage and Kelly ( who doesnt sing...worst voice ever) was singing like a champ...We sang for a few comical hours..laughed a lot and dont worry we got it all on video..very embarassing but great times!!!

January 2nd 2006- We got up early and headed to Tokyo station to see the Imperial Palace. Kokyo is the home of Japan's emperor and the imperial family. The palce is only open to the public 2 days a year, January 2nd and Decmeber 23rd so we were very lucky to get to see it. We again found ourselves surrounded by thousands of Japanese eager to pay their respects to their country. We were given Japanese flags to celebrate the special day, so we waved them as we explored the palace grounds. Next we got our sushi fix at a nearby sushi spot right before heading back to check out. Goodbye Tokyo... well after the 2 hour subway, train adventure to the airport of course.

Korean Christmas 2005

2005-12-25T20:36:00.000+09:00

December 24th - Merry Christmas Eve Day! In the morning we went to Sfunz (a shopping mall) where we picked up a Korean Monopoly board and then to E-Mart to pick up some sancks for our x-mas eve dinner. We had an incredible feast with deviled eggs, brie and baguette, noodle pasta, carrot sticks, bruchetta, crackers and dip, pizza bites and of course a nice bottle of wine. Steph got a little excited and spilled hers in the bruchetta.. but none got on the carpet..very talented! After the feast we engaged in an intense game of monopoly, where we schooled Gordo!!
We headed to Starface to meet up with the Aussie and his friends for a few drinks and some pool. Good times!

December 25th - Merry Christmas!!

Just like when we were kids, we were wide awake at 8am! We made a couple of cups of hot chocolate and waited for the rents to call us. After opening presents, we headed to the Marriott for Christmas Day Brunch. We were originally going with just Gord but when we arrived we saw Jordan and he invited us to sit with his table of 13. We enjoyed a fabulous buffet lunch with sushi, turkey, and all the trimmings. So full, we went for a stroll along the beach since it was so warm out and bustling with Christmas activity.

Although we are far from home, we had a great Christmas! We love and miss everyone so much and wish you all a great holiday season.

From our apartment in Korea to you..We Wish You A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

ECC Christmas!

2005-12-23T20:27:00.000+09:00

December 23rd - Today we took the Kindergarten kids to BEXCO Convention Centre. We went to Fun Land to play on enormous infaltable slides and fun-houses. The foreign teachers had way more fun than the kids! Afterwards we went back to school where the mother's of the kids made us a Christmas feast. The children sang Christmas songs, got to sit on Santa's (a.k.a Wes) lap, and even received a present (even the devil children..we suggested coal..but you know how it goes).

Merry Christmas from our children to you!

Dae-Dong Apartment

2005-12-10T13:32:00.000+09:00

We thought we'd show you what our apartment looks like from the outside and some of the buildings around it so you can get a sense of what its like to have a home in Korea.

Chulgoun Songt'ani toegirul paramnida!

2005-12-08T10:01:00.000+09:00

That means...Merry Christmas!!

To make our winter season feel more like home we decked out our apartment in the finest christmas decorations Korea has. We bought a fake little tree with all the trimmings and even got mom to send us xmas decorations from our house at home.

We decorated the windows with fake snow for the entire Dae-Dong apartment complex to see. You can definately tell which apartment is the foreigners.

The living room has an abundance of candy canes, candles, advent calenders and our very own hand-made fireplace. Being the resourceful women we are, we found brick-like stickers and created a fireplace on one of our sliding doors. With the help of construction paper and a large box, we were able to create the illusion of a roaring fire and an upstanding mantle. We can even put stuff on it without it falling down!

Snowflakes, homemade xmas cookies, and a super club mixx of christmas songs is making our December month feel more like a merry ol' Canadian Xmas.

All we need now is snow......

Brad's Last Night :(

2005-12-06T10:35:00.000+09:00

December 3rd: After 18 months of living it up in Korea, our Canadian co-worker Brad has decided to head back to the great white north. In his honor, we headed out on two separate occasions to say our good-bye's.

The ECC crew (including Korean teachers) headed to a nice little Korean restaurant and enjoyed a fabulous traditional Korean meal. We followed it up by a night out at U2 where the tequila was flowing and our boss even tried a beer bong! (it exploded everywhere) We even taught the Koreans how to line dance!

Now Brad is the tequila king and never ever refuses a shot. It can go down in history that on this night Brad actually pretended to take a shot of tequila and actually threw it across the floor. After we all caught him do it, he felt like an idiot and admitted it was the first time that he ever did that. He spent the rest of the night praying to the porcelain god.

Saturday we headed to Pasta Factory and 12 of us enjoyed a fabulous meal. Brad received a picture frame with a pic of the three of us and 2 more pairs of Ace and Gary underwear (see Halloween posting). We strolled up the street to the Oak bar for some Pineapple Soju that comes in an actual pineapple! Delicious! To finish the night, we busted some moves at Vinyl Underground.

We will miss Brad! (tear).

Daegu ~ Round 2

2005-12-01T00:24:00.000+09:00

November 26th: "Hey Kelly what should we do this weekend?"...."ummm..let's go to Daegu!". And that's what we did. We caught the KTX bullet train to Dondaegu station where Jarid and Evil Dan (we didn't give him the name but it catches on quick even tho he's the nicest ever) met us and took us back to Jarid's apartment.

We went for dins at a Korean galbi (beef ribs) restaurant where we had beef that we wrapped with lettuce, garlic, onions and some random sauce. Naturally, it was accompanied by many liters of beer! We then met up with Ronin and Simon at Evil Dan's weekend apartment where we dove into the SoJu and beer.

The boys were required to make an appearance at a girls bday so we skipped over to the other side of town and crashed this apartment party. We could have not showed up and she never would have known since she was so trashed. Either way, it was entertaining and i'm sure once someone reminded her that we were all there she will appreciate it!

We returned to our favorite Daegu bar called Itaewon Crew Pub. We saw some familiar faces from our previous visit, played a decent game of pool (for once!), and mingled with the other foreigners. At 4am we went to Hong Kong (the restaurant, not the city) to enjoy some chicken balls and some sort of beef dish. Two of the members of our group passed out in the restaurant, giving us ample time for mocking them and hitting them. Back to the apartment we went....peanut butter and bread finished the night off!

The next afternoon, we gathered up the Daegu troops and went for classic McDicks for lunch. We jumped on the subway and headed for the Daegu World Cup Stadium. It was huge! It was the host of the 2002 World Cup Soccer event. Determined to get in the gates, we walked all the way around the complex to find that if we had gone left instead of right, there was a gate 2 seconds away that would have let us in. Oops!! So we bascially got a view of the entire outside and then headed inside. The complex has over 70,000 seats and we walked the track causing a little trouble along the way....traffic cones are just asking to be toyedwith and so do random machines.

Our most shocking discovery, to our amazement, was that there was a COSTCO in Daegu! It is the only one in Korea and houses tons of Western food. We were in heaven and picked up tons of chicken breasts (nearly impossible to find in Busan), granola bars, a whopping 36 bags of popcorn, and a case of Campbell's Tomato Soup.

We loaded it all into our bags, bid Jarid and the boys farewell, and boarded our first-class seats (all that was left!) on the KTX back home. Another fine weekend ...many thanks to our boys!

Seoul

2005-11-20T21:18:00.000+09:00

Friday November 18th- Since APEC was in town and thoughts of terror danced through our heads we decided to get the hell out of Busan (and luckily the city shut down at the last minute granting us a day off and a ticket out of here).
Our destination: Seoul. Seoul is the 600 year old capital of a world class economic power house with a population of 10.3 million people!!!!!! The entire city has been destroyed and rebuilt and was fought over four times during the Korean War. 24% of South Korea's entire population live in Seoul ( as of 1990..so it must be much more by now).

We got up crazy early and took the 7am bullet train to Seoul. We arrived and navigated our way around the subway (6 lines!!!) and managed to find Itaewon (the biggest foreigner area in Seoul) and made it to the hilltop motel at the top of the famous "hookers hill". Our room consisted of a double bed (and about 1 foot of walking space), mini tv and a window that was blocked by bricks but for 30$ a night i guess you cant expect much, especially seeing as it is on hooker hill...

We dropped of our stuff and headed to the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Gwanghwamun. The palace was built by King Taejo and served as the principal palace until 1592 when in burnt down due to Japanese invasions. There are two large scale museums (the National Folk museum and the National museum), a forty-eight columned Gyeonghoeru pavillion and the island pavillion called Hyangwonjeong. We arrived in perfect time to see the famous "Changing of the Guard" outside the guarded front gate. It was incredible, the colorful flags, uniforms, and the sounds of beating drums and the ceremonial exchange of responsibility. We spotted a booth that let you get all geared up like a guard (for free!), they even gave us big sword things, funny boots, silly hats and colorful robes. Needless to say we looked damn good...and can definatly pull off the guard thing.

Next we went inside and toured the grounds. Our favorite was the King's pavillion, where he used to hold huge celebrations and feasts. We ended up at the national folk museum where we got the inside scoop on Korean lifestyle from birth to death.

After the Palace we went on a search for Jogyesa, the largest Buddist Temple in Seoul (built in 1938). It was under construction, but we still got a peek and made a lit a candle and made a wish.

Next on the agenda was a little stroll down the famous street called Insadong. It has narrow alleyways packed with art galleries, traditional tea shops and small restaurants. We did some serious shopping and made sure to make time for a traditional korean lunch of bulgolgi (barbequed marinated beef) and kimchi..mmmm...delicious. We ended up at Tapgol Park. Tap means pagoda and this park is named after it's ten-tier, 12-meter high marble pagoda (gateway to a sacred place). It was the end of the day and not to mention pretty chilly so it was a little quiet, but beautiful none the less. Next we headed back to hooker hill to warm up and change for dinner.

We went to Nashville Sports Pub for some good old bugers, nachos and a pitcher of Korea's finest beer (equivalent to Bud). After dinner we thought we'd check out another Pub called Seoul Pub famous for its beer boot ( A very large glass boot that can only we drank with the owner around to witness it). We met some military guys who bought a few drinks and kept us Momentarily entertained..and if your wondering..yes we got our hands on the famous boot.

Saturday November 19th- We got up and spent the entire day shopping at the Dongdaemun Market Area. We loved, but were overmelmed by Migliore shopping mall. There are 9 floors of jam packed wall to wall vendors selling everything and anything from sock boots to Gucci bags. After the mall we hit the street to do a little more shopping at the outdoor vendors. Feeling satisfied and a little broke we headed back to Itaewon to get ready for an eveninng out with Ali from Dal.

We ventured to Gecko's where we met Ali Rushton and some of her friends from work (She works as a teacher just outside of Seoul). After Gecko's we did a little bar hoping and eventually ended the night with some mandu (a dumpling filled with noodle and veggy stuff..not exactly sure).

Sunday November 20th - We got up early and somehow after a few minor set backs made it to Namsan mountain where you get the best views of Seoul from the Seoul tower. Nobody told us it was under sontruction and that you cant actually go up to the top, but we still got a nice view from a lookout at the base, it really gave us a glimpse of how enormous Seoul really is.

We checked out of the motel and went to the Grand Hyatt for the 2005 YBM Teacher's Banquet. Like the classy girls we are we changed and got all dawled up in the lobby bathroom, met our co-workers anddet up shop at table 35. We enjoyed an amazing Nanta show (kind like STOMP, but takes place in the kitchen..knives flyin' everywhere) and an incredible meal (smoked salmon, soup, tender beef and delicous cheesecake). Good times!
We headed back to Busan.. a great weekend in Korea's capital!

APEC

2005-11-15T21:06:00.000+09:00

November 15: Sttttttrike! The gang from ECC took it to the alley for a night of bowling at the Grand Hotel. In the first game, Kelly bowled the best game of her life! Thinking she could do it again, we bet the boys rounds of beers that we could kick their butt's (they also gave us a nice handicap). Sure enough, our luck ran out and we were off to U2 to buy our boys the beers they deserved.

This weekend was APEC or the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation meeting. The 13th APEC Economic Leader's Meeting hosted all the big-shots here in Busan, including President Bush. With the President came his Secret Service. U2 is usually a pretty quiet place on a Tuesday but upon walking in, we were blown away to see tons of Americans (can pick em out pretty easily!). We got to chatting and asked them repeatedly what they were doing here in Busan. After a lot of "government work" answerse, Kelly and I got the scoop that they were Bush's Secret Service men and the Counter-Terrorist team. Now we know it sounds like a line, but further investigation (very very sneaky) proved it to be true!

The question remains however...who was protecting Bush while everyone was at the bar?!

Daegu

2005-11-12T22:11:00.000+09:00

November 12: We called up our friend Jarid who is teaching in Daegu and told him we were coming for a visit! After the most delicious sushi at Isakaya in Busan we took the KTX train to Dondaegu. We were welcomed with a Captain Morgan's and Coke and headed out to their version of U2, Itaewan (or Krew Bar). Long Island Ice Teas.....Shots.....Vodka & Tonic....all made for the most terrible game(s) of pool ever. While we bragged we played better after a few drinks, we seemed to have skipped the 'good' part and fell right into the 'terrible' part. There is a limit to our pool abilities and we definately showed all of the Daegu foreigners that we suck. On the plus side, we made a lot of new friends and the owner 'Mama' fell in love with the new foreign girls.

The next afternoon we took a bus to Palgongsan Provincial Park whose highest peak is 1192m. We went to Donghwasa, the province's leading temple and strolled around the gorgeous leaf-covered paths. The leaves were all changing and it made the first sign of fall quite a sight. The most noticeable feature of the park is the 33m high Tong-il Daebul which is a Buddha erected in 1992. There were also two 17m stone pagodas.

Wanting to see more of the beautiful mountainside, we took the Palgongsan Skyline Cable Car up 820 m to the observatory. You can see Daegu in its entirety, but it was a bit chilly! We saw the fiery-red sunset and headed back down the cable car to catch the bus back to Daegu.

That night we wished Jarid a farewell and jumped on the KTX back 'home'. Can't wait to go back!

Stephy's Birthday!!

2005-11-08T18:04:00.000+09:00

November 8: Happy Birthday Stephy!!! Around 11:30pm we headed down to U2 to celebrate Steph's birthday at the strike of midnight. Kelly was such a doll and brought a candle and a Wine Gum (we have been addicted lately) to celebrate. Brad bought the Tequilla shots and we hung out and relaxed where everyone knows our name. Stephy got to open her gift from Kelly which was the best book of photos of our past year together....Stephy cried!

Steph's official birthday day started out with Steph's mom calling and Steph opening up all her presents!! Everything was perfect and we even got a Kimchi cookbook which we hope to use soon! Kelly took Steph to lunch that day at a cute little french restaurant called A Little Provence and we had some scrumtulescent pizzas with seafood and veggies! Steph was so surprised at work when she saw that her desk and chair were covered in balloons :) Kelly continued making Steph's bday wonderful by brining her treats at work, and getting her kindergarten classes to all make a big Happy Birthday card. It was so sweet. School celebrated by getting a delicious cake and all the kids were hugging and wishing Steph well on her Bday.

After work, Steph came home to find Kelly missing. The apartment was decorated with tons of streamers and balloons and a note saying "Relax..I will be home soon!". Half hour later Kelly came through the door with a red rose for Stephy and delicious cupcakes. Kelly had gone all the way to the store and tried to tell someone in Korean that she wanted icing and then went to the boy's house where she made cupcakes about 2 at a time since we dont have ovens here but toaster oven's instead. Then she bought a bottle of vino and M&M's and surprised Stephy with a delicious dessert! It was unbelieveable!

Dinner was at Pasta Factory where the Aussie and his friend Jordan, Wes, Kelly, and Brad enjoyed wonderful pasta. After a much appreciated glass of wine on the house we headed to a bar close by where tequila (followed by many more) was consumed and plenty a very terrible pool games were played. We got worse and worse as the night went on and by the end we were just an embarassment to the game. But Stephy was wearing a Happy Birthday hat so it didn't matter. :P

The night ended with cupcake eating and the biggest hug to such a wonderful friend. Stephy had a great bday and owes it all to Kelly!!!!!! x's and o's!

Jinhae Warship Exhibition

2005-11-06T15:56:00.000+09:00

November 5: Weighing our options for a Saturday night, we called up our Aussie friend and insisted that he host us for the night at his place in Jinhae (the next city over). He willfully accepted and picked us up. We went to eat at a fabulous restaurant called Anna Su. It was a french/western restaurant with an incredible decor and a relaxing atmosphere which was a nice break from Korean food. A bottle of wine and a 3 course meal was enjoyed by all and we set out back to Nathan's apartment.

In transit, we decided to pick up some more vino and with that we bought 2 bottles of Peach Champagne at a hefty $2.50 a pop. 5 bottles of red wine in tow (we managed to finish the bubbly in the car), we set up shop and settled in for what we thought would be a nice relaxing evening. We did run into one problem: no corkscrew! Being University graduates we thought pushing the cork into the bottle would be the best bet for a non-sober evening. We mangaed to shoot wine all over ourselves (Nathan changed shirts 4 times, Kelly once and Steph once), and all over the kitchen. We managed to open all the wine and mixed it with a hefty amount of drinking games. Between the three of us we polished off every bottle of red.

Late the next morning we set off to Nathan's work to drop off his co-workers car. Kelly got her first experience as a driver in Korea (and she got to go off-road also!)and was a little frightened at first because Korean drivers are crazier than the Quebecois! Nathan works at a shipping company where they have the largest cranes in the world. It was amazing to see and had it been a bit clearer out we would have climbed a crane to get quite the view.

Piled into Nathan's SUV, we set out to find a museum without a map or the actual name of the museum (a re-occuring theme for us). We relied on Nathan's cell phone and his roommate to guide us. Eventually we made it to this little fishing village where a bridge connected the mainland to Jinhae island. As the bridge was under construction, we boarded a small sketchy ferry boat and 5 minutes later we arrived at Jinhae Island.

Jinhae island was amazing. There were 3 battleships tied up to the side of the island and we explored the largest from top to bottom. The crew cabins were tiny and cramped, the ships controls were numerous, and the guns were huge. Some of the artillery could shoot up to 16 km away! And yeah we got to play with buttons ;)

We moved on to the Jinhae Naval Battles History Exhibition Hall where we saw the history of ship building, the types of guns used on ships, a simulation of being on a warship at sea, model submarine submersions, the chronolgical evolution of Jinhae itself. Its official bird is the white seagul...suckers!! All in all a very educational day!

ECC Halloween Day!

2005-10-31T17:40:00.000+09:00

October 31: Today was a Halloween Party and Spelling Bee at school. And yes we busted out the S.W.A.T. costumes for round 2, with a few small alterations of course. As for Brad and Wes, they decided no alterations were needed and Ace and Gary came out in full force!

In the morning we went trick-or-treating with the Kindergarten kids to three different apartments (Tina's, Tom's and Min-Young's places). All of the kids were dressed up, the boys were almost all super heroes :batman, spiderman, superman and we even had a combo buzz light year/superman.. oh Tom...so cute! The girls were all princess', bride's or fairies.

In the afternoon we carved pumpkins, ate candy, painted faces and played games (limbo, musical chairs, obstacle course). There were a few different spelling bee's throughout the day, where we came to the conclusion that Spelling Bee's are just not that much fun! The party was supposed to be over at 6:45pm, but leave it to us to combine our 6:45pm CNN classes and keep the party going. We did a mummy wrapping contest and a " biggest balloon without popping wins" contest. All very hilarious, and a great way to avoid having to really teach anything.

It was a long day but tons of fun and the kids really seemed to enjoy celebrating our much-loved dress up day!

Jagalchi Fish Market

2005-10-30T11:39:00.000+09:00

October 29: We got up at the crack of dawn and took the subway across town to the country's largest fish market. As we weaved our way past the waterfront warehouses, tiny shops and elderly women perched on street corners, the poweful fish odours ensured we had made it. They were selling an incredible variety of seafood, fresh fruit, veggies and even pig heads. As we walked we saw every type of seafood you could imagine: live and dried fish, octapus, squid, seaweed, whale ect. While walking along the pier we even came across some fisherman unloading the fresh fish off the boats - it was an incredible site. We spent some time checking everything out and even bought some fresh shrimp, fish, broccoli, zuccini and sprouts. It was an amazing morning!

Halloween Korean Styles

2005-10-30T06:20:00.000+09:00

October 29: We were really excited to be spending Halloween in Korea! It is not widely celebrated here but we knew that all the foreigners in Busan would be out in full force. There are no costume stores in Korea so we thought that we would be able to find something fun at the Jagalchi Fish Market. This place had tons of army gear, fishing equipment and lots of odds and ends. We ended up deciding to be a S.W.A.T. team (Agent Greenway and Agent Turner of the Busan Police) with a twist and bought army pants, vests and aviators to complete the look.

For the rest of the day we were busy altering our costumes to make them perfect. We bought plastic guns and loaded our vests with all the necessities (lip gloss, keys and money! haha).

That evening, we had Brad and Wes come by our place for a pre-drink and to see their costumes. They were the Ambiguously Gay Duo (Gary and Ace) and it was probably the funniest thing we have ever seen. As you can see from the picture, they are on display for everyone to see and had no shame. Well done boys!

We headed out to U2 to have a few drinks before heading to Vinyl Underground. At this bar they were having a costume contest as well as a raffle. The Ambiguously Gay Duo took home second prize and we took home third. The best surprise of the night was when they drew number 69 from the raffle bin and Steph had the matching number! We won a ticket to Jeju island, which is the biggest island in Korea and a $150 value. :)

All in all Halloween in Korea was a huge hit!!!

Beomeosa, Geumjeong Fortress and The Heosimcheong Spa

2005-10-22T22:11:00.000+09:00

October 22: We woke up bright and early for our hike. Nathan (the Aussie we met one night at "Soul Trane") picked us up and we attempted to navigate our way North, towards our temple destination without a proper map. It took longer than planned (obviously) but we made it. We parked at the South base entrance of Geumgang Park and took the cable car that climbed up 540 m that provided us with a splendid view of the city's valley development. The top of the cable car was the starting point of our 4 hour hike.

Again our lack of map resulted in a bit of backtracking - but once we found the main trail we were in hiker's haven. The views were breathtaking (literally) and we started to climb our 7.4 km uphill hike. We got a close up look at what may have been an impresive fortress called Geumjeong Fortress. All that remains is stone walls, occasionally covered with shrubbery, and a handful of gates and watchtowers.

Just off the beaten track, middle aged Korean women were selling food and beverages. We all got brave and tried some mystery on a stick that was actually quite tasty. Further along we saw a Korean kid parasailing off the side of the mountain, Koreans doing archery, and a slew of fashionable hikers.

It was brought to our attention that "if you are seeking an intimate nature experience, avoid the mountains on late sunday mornings as they are peak times for maddening crowds of fashionable hikers". Hiking in Korea is a serious sport and should not be taken lightly. They are dressed head-to-toe in matching hiking gear consisting of layers upon layers of longsleeve and long pants despite the 20 degree weather. There were poles and visors everywhere. As Kelly discovered, you cannot get in their way as they are not afraid to throw a hard elbow as they pass. Korean hiking is comparable to being hearded like a sheep up a narrow path - it was wall-to-wall people - even on the side of the mountain in the grass.

As if we didn't stick out enough already, our lack of any professional hiking attire, our foreign accents, Steph's short shorts (women never wear shorts in Korea) and Kel's blond hair waving in the wind made us the prime targets for questionable stares. Yah...we stuck out like sore thumbs.

When we completed the 4 hour trek, we arrived at a magnificent Buddhist temple, claimed to be the best sight in Busan. It was founded in AD 678 and was destroyed and rebuilt many times during Korea's fascinating history. Beomeosa is a world away from the urban jungle, with beautiful architecture neatly set against an extraordinary mountain setting. We stumbled upon a quiet square habited by Buddhist monks. We walked around the grounds and witnessed a traditional Buddhist prayer session led by a monk. It was phenomenal to witness. We also saw pagodas, rock carvings, Buddhas, giant 'gong's',and hand-painted wooden doors.

After a long day of hiking we thought we would treat ourselves to an afternoon at the spa. We found the Heosimcheong Spa, reportedly the largest spa in Asia. It has numerous soaking tubs saunas, healing tubs with a capacity of 2,000 people. FYI: No Bathing Suits Allowed! Imagine 2 of the whitest foreigners soaking amongst 2,000 naked Korean women. I am sure the tattoos and piercings were a hot topic of conversation among the conservative Koreans. Stares were exchanged! Surprisingly, after the intial shock, you quickly adapt to the Korean custom. We sat back and enjoyed relaxing our muscles.

When in Rome!! Right?!

Check out our Pics from the link on the sidebar. P.S. there are NO pics from the spa cause really where would you put your camera? lol :P

Kindergarten (EK) Birthday Party!

2005-10-19T16:29:00.000+09:00

October 19: Today we celebrated all the EK October birthdays (Daniel and Rose's 5th and Julia's 7th). It was a 2 hour celebration with cake, games, snacks and singing.

This is the EK7 class and the birthday kids, from left to right : Tony, Paul, Candy, Pinky, Rose, Daniel, Ally, Sunny and Jamie.

Busan Aquarium

2005-10-17T21:12:00.000+09:00

October 17: We decided to check out the Busan Aquarium in Haeundae. It was a large underground fish tank with 50,000 sea creatures. Among the favorites we saw penguins, jellyfish, sea dragons, flash light fish, otters (we saw a live feeding), electric eels, a huge crocodile and crabs the size of chickens. There was an tunnel you could walk under and have huge sharks swim overhead and a 6 metre high tropical fish tank.

Great morning activity!

Teacher's Seminar Day in Gyeongju - Bulguksa

2005-10-15T20:27:00.000+09:00

October 13: Teacher's Seminar Day (aka Field Trip!).

At 10am we boarded the bus with our co-workers and headed 1.5 hours Southeast to Gyeongju - one of Korea's most popular touris destinations. Gyeongju is the old Korean capital during the Silla dynasty (57BC) and remained so for 1000 years. It has undergone severe restoration after the Mongols in the early 13th Century and the Japanese in the late 16th Century ransacked it completely. There are tombs, temples, rock carvings, pagodas, Buddhist statuaries, ruins of palaces, pleasure gardens and castles.

Before we toured the temples we went to a beautiful park where we took a Swan boat ride which quickly turned into Swan Bumper Boats. We got yelled at in Korean over the loud speaker and resigned our boats before heading for a traditional Korean lunch. We sat on the floor, ate a typical Korean meal with is copious in volume based on rice, soup and Korea's national dish, kimchi (pickled or fermented vegetables - in a spicy sauce). Korean meals have many side dishes called banchan around the table: ginger, garlic, green onion, black papper, soy sauce, roots, pastas. We also had to sharped our chopstick skills because we had to eat with metal chopsticks! Going back to the Joseon dynasty, Kings would insist on using metal chopsticks beccause silver would tarnish in the presence of toxins - the tradition caught on and was passed down to the common people (they are slippery buggers!)

After lunch we toured Bulguksa - a series of stone terraces, it is a temples of the crowning glory of Silla temples architecture and is on the Unesco World Cultural Heritage List. The woodwork (detailed hand-painted eves and roofs) was incredible. It was built in 528 and enlarged in 751, and destroyed by the Japanese in 1593. We saw the Dabotap pagoda (a national treasure) which is on Korean currency (then 10 Won coin).

The Buddhist religion is very interesting. Many Koreans are Buddhist and Geena (our co-worker) is Buddhist and explained many of the statues. She told us that there are different places of prayer for the hierarchy of becoming a Monk. There are ones for pupils, teachers, and the highest level is the Gwaneumjeon hall. We went into a temple and made a wish by bowing to the Buddha, and made a wish by adding a rock to a aneuktashook (spelling unknown).

Oh one more cool fact is that the symbol for 'temple' is the German Swastika in reverse! Hitler stole the symbol from Buddhists back in tha day (our co-worker studied history but could not remember the exact dates).

We bought matching wish rings to remember our trip!

Apartment

2005-10-11T20:15:00.000+09:00

October 9th: We finally got to move in to our very own, newly furnished, 2 bedroom apartment!! We are located 2 minutes away from school, and a 20 minute jog from the beach. Located at 515 Dae-dong Apata, Apartment 202, we are the sole foreign occupants in a 24 story building.

Our apartment includes:

A kitchen: No stove 2 gas burners, a microwave, a fridge, new kitchen table and chairs.
A living room: A new couch (we need to teach Koreans a thing or two about comfortable seating), a TV, coffee table, and phone.
2 Bedrooms: Beds, armoir, vanity, clothes rack.
Bathroom: Shower with no shower rod, and a drain in the floor.
2 Verandas
Lots of Storage

We were expecting a hole in the wall so we were very pleased and have all the space we need!

Teaching in Korea...

2005-10-10T15:57:00.000+09:00

We work for an English Academy called Haendae ECC, on the third floor of this building. The kindergarden students (5-7 years old) come mon-fri from 9:30am-3:00pm. The older students (8-14 years old) go to a regular elementary/middle school during the day, and then come to ECC to learn english. The school is open for classes from 10am-9pm mon-sat. Classes are 40 minutes long and are all different levels from beginner to CNN (Intermediate English using real world events). Class size ranges anywhere from 1 to 14 kids. They take a placement test that decides what level they will learn (not done by age). It costs the parents a small fortune to send their kids to the academy (approx 700$ a month). Each class has a Korean teacher and a Foreign teacher that teach back to back, we specialize in the oral speaking component and the Korean teacher usually does the grammar. Teaching involves lesson prep, actually conducting the class and evaluating each student at the end of each month ( we do oral tests and the korean teachers give the written test). Our teaching schedule is very sporatic and we often have large breaks throughout the day. Mon, Wed, Fri are long days, we each teach 9-40 minute classes, starting at 10am and ending at 7:30pm. Tues, Thurs are our light days we both teach 4 classes.

40 minutes may seem short, but when given 1 page of short dialogue for the entire class, games (tic-tac-toe, scrabble, bingo, simon says and an occasional educational game) and coloring become your best friends!

The staff room is cramped and disorganized. It is nearly impossible to find the material you need. Koreans have it all wrong, they are too lazy to orgaize therefore end up spending sooo much time trying to find stuff. But once you get the hang of it and figure out that the last place you should look is where its should be, its actually a pretty fun game of hide and seek.

Initiation

2005-10-08T19:39:00.000+09:00

October 6th: Before our first official day in Korea we hit the beautiful beach for a morning stroll.

Rachel our boss gave us a tour of Haeundae ECC (our new home for the next year). Its on the 3rd floor of a low rise building, like everything else in Korea. Its not like home... there are tons of different businesses in each building.. so there are millions of Korean signs to advertise where these places are... none of which we can read or even recognize...they really know how to pack em' in.... We met the 6 Korean teachers :Windy, Stella, Vicky, Sunny, Geena, Anne and Lisa, as well as the 4 fellow foreigners: Brad from BC, Wes from Texas, Mark from NB and Kevin from Ontario (Kevin was leaving the next day).

After doing a tour of the school, meeting the staff and getting the low down on how things work we went out for a Goodbye Kevin/Welcome Kelly and Steph party at a micro brewery called "Hans Brau Haus". We drank korean beer, ate korean snacks and got to know the staff a little. Brad ordered a huge ass (5L...i think?) tower of beer.. ( you should be able to see it in the pic). The Party didnt stop there... the Koreans went home cause they all live with their parents and have early curfews (Unmarried women get the shaft).

The foreigners headed to some Japaenese beer house where we got introduced to the official Korean alcohol "Soju". It is a classic Korean rice wine that comes in many flavors, and for 2$ a half litre bottle, its a definate bang for your buck...and can be compared to poision.. p.s. you shoot it. In Korea it is considered rude to leave anothers glass empty so when you are done there is another close behind. Needless to say the Soju was flowing into the wee hours of the morning (Korean bars dont close until everyone goes home voluntarily). We also checked out a foreigner bar called U2. We partied back at the hotel and then finally got a few zz's (2 hours to be exact) before our first day as jet-lagged, hungover Teacher Stephanie and Teacher Kelly.

Good Times!

Adventure #1: Getting to Korea!

2005-10-06T19:11:00.000+09:00

October 2nd : Kelly flew from Montreal Dorval to Hamilton International Airport where she was picked up by Dominican Jeff! They traveled to Burlington where they enjoyed a few beers in Steph's backyard, packed up last minute items, and crawled into bed for our last Z's in Canada for quite a long time. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

October 3rd: 5am came quite quickly but we were so excited that we didn't notice it was still pitch black outside. We packed up our multiple-large-and-in-charge suitcases, tagged them with Canadian flags, and headed to Pierson airport with Mr & Mrs G. After saying our goodbye's we boarded our first flight leaving Toronto, Ontario at 9am going to Vancouver, British Columbia.

5 hours later we arrived in Van city and had some beers in the airport (bought by generous travelers thinking we were sisters) and spent our 3 hour layover getting used to the fact that we were on our way to Korea! We went to the check-in desk early to book 2 seats together for the 12 hour flight. The Korean Air lady got our hopes up when she said "I have two seats together in a 2" but she brought us right back down 10 seconds later when she said "Oh sorry they are taken. All I have for two seats together is seats 2 and 3 in a 5! So we were stuck in a 5 person row right in the middle - yikes!

Tons of gravol, two sunrises and no sunsets, skipping the kimchi meals, 12 hours later, and at night on October 4th (12 hour time change) we popped out in Seoul, South Korea at Incheon International Airport. The most exciting part was that our bags made it there - all 4 of them! We had 2 hours to catch our next flight to Busan, where we witnessed our first full-out Korean argument that rattled the entire lounge.

After a 1 hour flight we arrived in Busan where Mr. Park greeted and took us to our hotel. We were put up in the GrangBlue Hotel (they are called Love Motels here) right on Haeundae Beach, in the heart of Busan. A walk on the beach and some fresh air put us right to sleep...ok...maybe the jet-lag had something to do with it too.

The Korean adventure has officially started!!!! :D