What I learnt from AVATAR

Before I start, I just watched the movie so I am on a bit of an Avatar buzz… its basically the odd addage that Americans always want to roll people for resources… which in my opinion is or at least has been pretty accurate for the past two centuries. Ahh… uses something similar to the Bruce Willis film ‘Surrogates’ for the link… but has beautiful 3D and the story is quite captivating. Big ‘Pocahontas’ feel to the movie with the epic world blows up scenes too. Here’s the trailer if you want to see it… http://www.avatarmovie.com/

I watched it out of Yongsan Station (용산역) CGV… really, really good… 3D movies have come a long way…

Basic lessons I learnt from watching the movie epic, Avatar.

• that killing off nature is not cool
• that people can be so into their own perspective that they forget everyone has one
• something that looks stupid to us might be sacred to someone else
• that most Western societies and tribal-based societies have big communication problems and aren’t able to properly comprehend each others cultures

 (my stoopid list – don’t read it if your hyper sensitive)

Most people who read this know already I’m not racist… but in all reality, its true… the natives on the planet Pandora are built and have distinct similarities to the tribes of Africa… long and muscular physiques, atheletic and of course tribal.

And cos I’m stupid, I made a list of things I have learnt African girls and of course Navian girls are attracted to:

• guys that can control big bird things, like teradactyls
• handsome, athletic guys (dur)
• someone really tall and has really good complexion
• guys that act stupid and childish
• likes dogs, someone who definitely doesn’t kill dogs
• not afraid to fight – adept at the bow & arrow, fighting stick thing and knife
• I will add to this list soon… I am pretty sure being half human will be included…

Kawaii Seyo – Chapter: Tokyo [Part 2]

I should have probably knocked up a bit of a diary during the trip so I could remember what we did but here it goes… (note: all the pics used will be the girls fotos…) I arrived Friday night at the hotel and was actually really worried for them..   Tita Fey and her husband waited around with me… 

I ended  up leaving a message at the counter for them… and then bumping into them… at around 10ish in front of the hotel… (they looked relieved to arrive)  

We all looked around the rooms, had showers and went off to midnight meal…   first jap jump-shot… love it 

 It was in the middle of a lot of Pachinko places…  Li is gona hate me for posting this pic up… but… its too good…  We went home and slept… Saturday we got up and took the train to Harajuku… a place which is not dissimilar to Myeongdong in Korea… just a bit more packed… but I think it is because the streets are smaller… and Japanese people and fatter than Korean people…      We went to visit the Meiji-jingu thingie first… it was a beautiful day and we got to see a

pretty place..

 

glimpse of a traditional Japanese wedding… (I am pretty sure the post-text ‘jingu’ [jap] and ’sung’ [koren] mean the same thing… temple)   

 

 

 

After that Im pretty sure we went shopping… Harajuku is mad shopping… and we saw some stores that blew my mind… a Nike store that custom built shoes… Kiddie Land… plus stores for every cool hat/beanie and bag in the entire world… the girls were busier than me cos I hit up Uneo the day before… 

 

We ended up going to the main street and finding Kiddie Land where we spent a bit of time buying stuff… as gifts… obviously…

 

We saw plenty of interesting things – worthy highlights were the weird and scary Hello Kitty doll… a Lewin look alike doll and… another Thomas the Train train…   We kinda started getting a bit peckish which meant a walk down the famous shopping strip, past the bridge… opposite side to Kiddie Land…  

We ended up finding a nice little pasta place on the strip… waited for a table of three and ate some pretty good stuff…. yummm.. 

 

Obviously… as Ablaze peeps we were still hungry and never satisfied we went looking for crepes… lucky for us… when you hit the middle of the Hakajuku main strip… there is crepe places around galore… one of the more enjoyable snacks ive had for a while…

 

after we went to Shibuya… to check out the largest pedestrian crossing in the world…

 

In simple terms… it was pretty frickin amazing… im calculating around 2000 people every 5 minutes… and Sam tells me it just doesnt slow down

 

We were all a bit tired… so going around 109 mens & womens… we ended up getting a drink at Starbucks and just stared at the crossing for ages… me and Mel did play with a very sleepy Li for a bit too… it invovled a strange ‘go’ word and a camera…

 

So we meet up with The Sam and eat dinner with him… it was good to catch up with him…

foood....

 

such a cool guy…    

So yeah … we went home in anticipation of seeing The Professor & Simon as well as visiting Hope Tokyo… thats it for now…

he is soo cool

 

The Sunday post will be up soon!   

Family’s Forever – Chapter: Tokyo [Part 1]

So yeah, wanted to knock up a bit of a post about our trip to Tokyo. I was actually very excited when Mel & Li locked me into a Japan trip mid-year… so here it goes… first part… just fam

Thursday 26th – my flight was 8am – I had to check-in 5:50am… the airport line doesnt start until like 6am… and I aint cabbing it there from Incheon (its like an hour away)… so I went to the airport as late as I possibly could, 1ish… and camped out

Woke up… checked-in… jumped on a plane to Narita Airport…

My Auntie Fey picked me up from the airport… I hadn’t seen her for 12 years (whoops)… her Japanese is amazing… her Tagalog is good and her is English is OK… my Japanese is almost no-exsistent… my Hangeul is a pass for a grade 1er…. and Tagalog is frickin terrible… and my English is slowly getting worse (we settled with Tagalog)

We went back to hers… and dropped the bags off… her place is small but you should expect in a place like Japan right. I met my cousins and we went out to eat – Ramen!

Then we went shopping… @ Ueno

 cheap… cheap – snow jacket & uggies for $110ish bucks

… not bad yeah?

(the picture is me in the jacket bought in Japan enjoying our first snow flurry in Yulmyeon)

I wish I could have done more shopping to tell you the truth but carrying bought winter clothing is annoying from airport to airport… still totally worth it!

Went home & watched Pinoy Channel with her (gotta love it!) and waited for the kiddies to come home from school and the hubby to come back from work

Around 7ish – were all together and ready to go… we end up goint to Izayaki in Shabatu (I think) and ate, ate & ate – for those interested… sashami, eel, octopus (x3) were my favorites

Yeah, my family there is doing well… the odd kid out is Kenneth… he is 19 and working night shifts – I got to see him at least… Marika is the older girl at 18 and just finished high school and looking for work  but does a bit of part-time as a japanese model for fashion mags… and of course Paulina… 10 and still in high school…

We had to skip town shortly after dinner cos I had to meet the girls at our hotel about 15 minutes away on the train, Shinjuku Sunroute Plaza across from the eki (station)

I wish I had more time with them but yeah… i wasn’t really supposed to be going to Tokyo during the school period anyways  

 

I loved seeing them and I am glad Tita Fey is happy now… she wasnt having the best time for quite a while – the kids are good and shes enjoying her church – so I am content to leave for a little bit until I return again

Next up… a bit of fun with the girls from Ablaze (awesome) and the strangers from the other services…

Monday Travellings

I’ve just returned… to school that is… I was a bit cheeky and asked for Friday & Monday off to go to Japan… & because me and the vice-principal are tight, it was granted haha

I am pretty tired to tell you the truth… I am real glad I returned on a Tuesday because they are my prep days, only 4 classes so I can kinda hide in the corner of the office and rest most of the day…

I wont be blogging about the Japan trip right now per-se… but I will talk quickly about the timeline that was my Monday…

• 10:20am: Take the aiport limosuine BUS from the hotel to Narita airport (1 hr 45 mins)… check-in
• 2:10pm: flying from Narita to Incheon Airport on a PLANE (2 hrs 45 mins)
• 5pm: airport SUBWAY line to Gimpo Airport (1 hour! I know its only like 5 stops)
• 6pm: TRAIN it Line 7 style from Gimpo – to whatever that station is where you get onto the express train… through to Sinnohyeon station (1 hour)
• 7pm: take a CAB from Sinnoheyon to Gangbeyeon station (15 minutes – I didnt feel like transferring twice)
• 7:40pm: BUS it from Gangbeyeon to Janghowon (1 hr 45 mins)
• 9something: CAB it from Janghowon to Godangri (my house) (15 mins)

Lets just say… its great to back home This was just a fill-in post to say I’m back. The full Japan post will arrive end week!

What I learnt about myself in Japan:

• I cant take photos when everyone else has a camera… its too uncomfortable for me… so yeah – I took enough photos of my family to be happy and posed enough to expect to be in a lot of them
• I can pack well for trips between 1-4 days without the need for check-in
• I still love Japan and if I could ever afford to stay there for more than 4 days I really, really would
• I really miss my friends at home still
• I still write ridiculously long-winded emails
• I am getting used to the cold

soo many goes at this photo...

 

 This picture is of Hope Tokyo who we had the pleasure of visiting… more about them soon! (They were ultra cool – Ken is hilarious…)

Miss you Sam…

Thanks to Rongkavit for a great photo!

and yes… I am wearing uggies…

More about Japan soon!

Reality Check: Daily Chat with Mum

The post today is an excerpt from the MSN conversation I had with Mum this morning. I tell you what… major, major reality check…

Eva 님의 말:
allow
jp… 님의 말:
allow?
jp… 님의 말:
hello?
Eva 님의 말:
Good am..
jp… 님의 말:
good am?
jp… 님의 말:
hhahaha
Eva 님의 말:
Pilipino allow
jp… 님의 말:
ur english is so bad mum
jp… 님의 말:
oh really
jp… 님의 말:
haha
jp… 님의 말:
maganda umaga
Eva 님의 말:
I don’t know how to speach english?
jp… 님의 말:
haha
jp… 님의 말:
i dont know how to speak tagalog nemore either its ok
Eva 님의 말:
 hehehehehehehehe
Eva 님의 말:
u dont want to speack taga..
Eva 님의 말:
How’s the weather ther now??
jp… 님의 말:
of course… pachene naman walan pinoy dito
Eva 님의 말:
when r going to japan?
jp… 님의 말:
friday… cheap tickets!
Eva 님의 말:
did u talk ate fe??
jp… 님의 말:
no not yet… i will try to call her 2nite… wat language do i speak haha
jp… 님의 말:
i dont know much japanese
Eva 님의 말:
english, bec.ur tagalog is bad..
jp… 님의 말:
hahah
jp… 님의 말:
its not taht bad – i just need practice
Eva 님의 말:
so u get the no..?
jp… 님의 말:
i got it i will try to call her
Eva 님의 말:
okies..
jp… 님의 말:
is she working during the day?
Eva 님의 말:
did u know len already booked her ticket..feb
jp… 님의 말:
oh really
jp… 님의 말:
thats good
Eva 님의 말:
how long u will still stay there until May??
jp… 님의 말:
i think so
Eva 님의 말:
other 6 months not bad…
Eva 님의 말:
we will be back to Aus on Feb..for few days only..
jp… 님의 말:
oh really
jp… 님의 말:
will u bring the baby?
jp… 님의 말:
wen will u get the baby already!
Eva 님의 말:
many relative got Born again….15
jp… 님의 말:
oh really
Eva 님의 말:
But!!!!!!!!!!!!u know…
jp… 님의 말:
do i know them?
jp… 님의 말:
hahah
Eva 님의 말:
no..
Eva 님의 말:
u will know them when u get here..
Eva 님의 말:
bit hard…i have to pay the taxi to come to church and back home..
jp… 님의 말:
for them?
jp… 님의 말:
dont do that… just teach them to catch a bus
Eva 님의 말:
and give them to eat lunch and merinda and pocket money..etc….
Eva 님의 말:
the bus is 8 each But, the taxi 50.oo for 7people..
Eva 님의 말:
cheaper….
jp… 님의 말:
why do u pay? thats ridiculous… they have to take responsiblity
Eva 님의 말:
We do this for His Glory…
jp… 님의 말:
haha but they wont go to church if u go mum
jp… 님의 말:
its not real faith if they cant struggle to go to church
jp… 님의 말:
remember… i catch bus to church for ages
Eva 님의 말:
they are poor….they don’t even have food at the table everyday..
Eva 님의 말:
all kid not go to schools..
jp… 님의 말:
its not easy for them right
Eva 님의 말:
one cousin daughter she 16 not even finish elementary..
jp… 님의 말:
wow
jp… 님의 말:
thats really sad
jp… 님의 말:
nobody working?
Eva 님의 말:
if we’re in they shoes???
jp… 님의 말:
yeah its difficult… i still have to learn to be more compassionate
Eva 님의 말:
many relative 6,7 years old not going to schools..can’t even buy notebooks..
jp… 님의 말:
we have to help right… even if its a bit of money
Eva 님의 말:
very sadd.
Eva 님의 말:
Yes, so many works to do here..
jp… 님의 말:
its ok mum God is helping them now
Eva 님의 말:
even in my own relatives..
jp… 님의 말:
yah i know
Eva 님의 말:
in Australia everybody comfprtable…
Eva 님의 말:
i tell sometimes they sleep without food in the tommy..
jp… 님의 말:
yeah i dont experience that for a long time now
Eva 님의 말:
one t-shirt,
Eva 님의 말:
u never experience.
jp… 님의 말:
yeah i dont
jp… 님의 말:
its difficult for me to understand
jp… 님의 말:
im fat and always have food
Eva 님의 말:
BECAUSE U R BLESSED!!
Eva 님의 말:
U LOVE GOD WITH ALL UR HEART SOUL MIND..
Eva 님의 말:
I LOVE YOU…BE GOOD!!
Eva 님의 말:
SEE U VERY SOON..
Eva 님의 말:
MISSED U A LOTS..
jp… 님의 말:
love u mummy
Eva 님의 말:
BYE…
jp… 님의 말:
talk soon
Eva 님의 말:
PRAY FOR ME..
jp… 님의 말:
of course everyday mum
jp… 님의 말:
lov u

Like I couldnt get it through my thick head they CANT pay for a bus fare… I seriously never, ever will ever say I am hungry again… or I need a new shirt.

food for thought eh… actually hunger for thought.

Motorbikering, 110km/hr, Midnight, -10°C

The title is pretty much the summary of what occurred on Tuesday night this week.

Here is the part of the post I wrote BEFORE the trip…

Me & Jason go into the big smoke, Icheon City on Tuesdays for language exchange with some of our Korean friends… who are mainly university graduates in their first jobs… They are very cool and we tend to have plenty of fun learning a language a bit different to ours

Anyways… we got the the city on the ‘Autobike’ or motorbike… its called a City something something… which are essentially the farm bikes the adooshis use to get around their rice paddies and such… 

For the record, I  just want to say if I do die in Korea… it will be on the back of this bike…

I am expecting that Jason will want to autobike it into Icheon today. I am expecting to want to bus it in today.

Main reasons – its very, very cold. I put my thick jacket into the drycleaners just then. Im scared of dying in the cold.

If I die, then Dan gets the electronics… Caleb gets my responsibilities & the poster (Dan can make another one for himself) and Mr TL gets my illegitimate children

Information gathered AFTER the trip:

OK I am alive… short description of how I am currently feeling:

• my lips are chapped hardcore through the helmet
• I’ve got a headache the size of a watermelon (this is because my neck hates being contained in scarves)
• I’m definitely a bit dizzy (this post has been revised on Friday as it had plenty of grammatically errors)
• My legs from the hip and the knee, feel like they are either on fire or bleeding – this feeling has been consistent since we went into town
• I wore three pairs of socks and my Everlast High-kicks… my big toes have no feeling… they actually feel like they are frozen through like frozen fish fingers or something
• My eyes are watering worse than when I got mercury poisoning (refer back through the blog) and my nose is leaking worse than my crying kindergarten students
• I am drinking a coffee at home and it tastes and feels the same temperature as running water

Lesson from this post… do not autobike 45 minutes into town second last week of Autumn/Fall in Korea… even with 4 layers of clothing… because you will DEFINITELY get cold.

p.s. it was around -6°C standing still… plus wind… -10°C sounded about right..

me eating jap in 용산역

 

Status Update:

• Friend cancelled tonight *shock* so I stay in Godang-ri (my sleepy lil town) overnight *shock* lets save some money for Japan!
• I am finding it really difficult to find the in between of dressing like an eskimo and not wearing enough and freezing…
• Listening to ‘Slow Motion’ by Karina Pasian – cover by Randolph & Kat Badar (I am always on Youtube)

Goals for the weekend:

• stop spending money!
• buy mittens, coats, jackets, long-jons, thick socks, beanies, face masks, vests, wind-breakers, uggies, woolie pants that Feb has, scarves, gloves, hoodies, leather jacket and jumpers…
• New goal… find a happy medium in the middle…
• go to Japan

 

Full Batt & No More Cash

As some of you might recall I havent had the best relationship with electronics recently… I broke my TV (I still dont know how I did that) which I am incredibly unhappy about, my fluros in my kitchen have been dead for about 1.5-2 months now (I do eat out alot)… my mp3 player got stolen/I lost it and my camera got smashed on the way from OZ. Oh yeah… my lappy also flipped a lip and blew its CPU.

But….

Im back! bought a snassy lil camera on the weekend. I kinda felt bad blogging on borrowed shots so I picked up a nifty point & shoot on Saturday. Nothing special… its called the Olympus Stylus 1050 – was released end of last year I suspect…

I bought it for 240,000W @ TechoMart in Gangbeyeon. Negoiatations started at 260,000, I dropped it to 230,000… then I asked for case, wall charger and card… it ended up being a good price at the end. I got it in silver… so when it scatches up it does show as bad.

Reasons why I bought it:

• its  shockproof – we hike alot and I am in general bad with anything in my hands
• and waterproof which will be perfect for the snow in Korea and the beaches when I get back to OZ..
• the new model was about $100 bucks more and did the same thing… so I decided to go with the  former
• its got a non-purtruding zoom lens… which I have broken on my past 2 point & shoots
• its not a DSLR which I am still comtemplating on buying but didnt want to seeing I would be too scared to use it now as it will snow sparatically for 4 months
• Its got a video camera which is essential
• Big LCD screen so old fellas like me can see the pics
• Its pretty and has a cool tap function – I’ll let you try it next time I see you

Reasons why I didnt want to buy it:

• its not as cool as the DSLR I initially wanted to buy… but I need video recording capacity at an OK price
• its not as pretty as a big wholesome DSLR
• it reminded me I don’t have as much money as I always think I do
• its impressiveness isn’t equivalent to its owners…. or the owner’s perception of his own impressiveness must drop down to either reasonable levels of impressiveness to coincide with the fact he himself, really isn’t that impressive

I hope the pros & cons of my digital camera review is as informative and helpful as it was fun to make.

Next purchase…

MP3Player…

I seriously was out to buy an iPod Touch… and I as definitely enabled to buy one seeing I saved so much on the camera. As luck would have it I asked a guy we work with who hooks us up with some stuff *wink* and asked him if he knew a guy… he said ‘yah I know a place’ and said A21 (I think)… the guy ended up being an ‘Official Reseller’ for Apple… booooo! Prices were a bit out of range and scared me enough to consider a Korean made brand…. seeing they do lead the world (with Japan) in electronics.

I settled with the Cenix S-300… 100% Korean and very cool. It has the same skills just does them a bit slower than the iPod. the video streaming is fantastic and I carry around pics of the most important people in the world on it. I ended paying 160,000W for it…  which is a clean 140,000W off the price of a Apple iPod Touch, at the same size with the same capabilities.

So why I bought it:

• Its ultra-ultra thin… much thinner than the iPod – which means its light too!
• I got to flog quite a few things with the Mp4 player as the guy wasnt willing to budge on price much – so I got screen cover, two (2) different cases (clear & soft) and wall charger… all quality stuff
• it does everything I want it to do – just a touch bit slower than the touch
• all file compatible – very important
• screen size is good

Reasons why I didn’t want to buy it:

• I am iPod man through and through – I bought the first version and I repaired it twice over the past 6-7 years I think – I love that thing and the only reason I needed to buy a mp3 player in the first place is I left my original at Net’s place
• Im used to the iPod – it rolls off your tongue… its easy to communicate what you are doing on an iPod to others because so many people have them
• I lose the functionality of easy access to podcasts and iPod applications – such as the Subway map… which is often helpful
• The iPod is generally very cool… when everything else is generally not – I dont generally like not being cool if I have  a choice
• I see the iPod advertised in many places and for some weird reason, I always have had (continually present tense) the urge to buy one or maybe two (2)… (Apple is really good at advertising in Hangeul & English in Korea)

I must hate holidays in Korea

I actually dont mean what I said in the post title… but its got to look like it to the average bystander… I actually would love to hang around during holiday times in Korea, but I must have bad timing…

This is a small but factual list of events confirming my title:

Chuseok – During the very scared holiday of Chuseok (Thanksgiving) in Korea most people would be having a special traditional meal in fancy dress… I flew to Hong Kong and celebrated Latern Festival instead.

Summer School Holidays – as soon as it was humanly possible I flew out to Australia… then Philippines… and just to cap it off… a short trip back to Japan, this time it was Fukuoka

Thanksgiving – American Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of weeks. Amercians (which I am closely tied to through friendship) are planning a bit of a get together and meal. My church is holding a massive buffet that Saturday in conjunction with my old church and the church down the road, both of which I have good friends that attend. John on the otherhand travels to Japan to fun it out with my friends from OZ in Tokyo :S

Christmas – yes… I will be flying out on Christmas Eve to spend Santa day with my mommy in the Philippines…. spending some time with my boys in the PRFU!

New Years – yes… mommy’s birthday… spent in Manila… it will be my sixth NYE there!

So yeah… knowing me… this list will grow and more and more Koreans will dispise me for not taking their holidays more seriously… oh wellz

Slower updates:

• bought some electronics on the weekend from TechoMart @ Gangbeyeon… I spent a bit… which I shouldnt be doing… seeing Im off to Tokyo (the most expensive place on the PLANET) in 2 weeks but yeah… cant go without a camera right?! I’ll do a proper post on my purchases during the week
• Went to Uijeongbu for the first time last Friday night… its in Ilsan about an 1 hour north of Seoul… which meant a long time on public transport… but it was fun… lots of foreigners and I was generously housed for the night so I didnt have to sleep outside in the cold
• Went to my first KBL (Korean Basketball League game)… was pretty good and went with folks from Average Joe’s churchie… great peeps… game was close… then celebrated his pastor’s bday with them… Pastor Sang who is hella cool… too cool for a pastor… then went dinner… army food! We went pitching practice afterwards… I clocked the fastest… it was 122 kms but I did a 135 kms outside the batting zone…
• Churchie Sunday morning with Joe… we visited Youth Service… reminds me heaps of Ablaze… I dont think Pastor Phil likes me visiting because I should be morning service instead… For the record… I have been youth service for my whole life… its a difficult transition OK?… also… we found out that quite a few people go to my Sarang Church… thats how big it is
• Lunch @ ‘Paris Baguette’ (I think thats what its called) outside of Exit 6 Gangnam… good food… but was still hungry so hit up Mr Wows Hotdog too

Pretty Places on Rainy Weekends – Part 2

Aight… second place… we went to East Sea, Sokcho (this is actually currently being called ‘Sea of Japan’… a bit of a contentious issue).. . we actually slept in a jimjilbang at Incheon Bus Terminal Station… for the record these were Daves complete directions… “Under Mr Hotdog, around the corner, and upstairs….” period. Yes… I found it.

We had an early morning with a 6:30am bus departure… lucky for us we were only a 15 minute walk. Bus ride was in one of those cool Limosuine buses with the seats bigger than an airplane… which was handy seeing we were going to be sitting on our arses for 4ish hours… 

Jump to the exciting stuff… we arrived minus a team member, Iris… who kinda slept in… so to kill time we went to Sokcho beach.  

We found a pretty love tree which me and Dave subsequently hung off, and also a large fishy that ate my rear for a well positioned pic

We then caught up with Iris and took a bus to the foot of Sorak Mountain, which we plan to take on even though the weather wasnt on our side (again…)

We were caught a bit of luck as we jumped off the bus, two ajoomas were selling raincoats… both which got handled by HaYoung seeing they were both pushing their merchandise into our faces and squabbling abit…

While waiting around for our cable car to arrive (which was at 2:10pm if I remember correctly)… we went to visit a temple quite close and did some other touristy fotos… Heres an awesome shot by Dave in the cable car… genius mate…

When we arrived, we were a bit worried about the climb (as we endured a bit scaling Mt Hallan in Jeju-do the previous week) but yeah didnt take long at all… probably 15 minutes… We were warned by an ajooma that the climb wasnt the issue.. it was the windiness… she wasnt exaggerating… wind gusts were strong enough to push us straight off the cliffs. Dave & Mace wasnt keen to play around at the non-secured climb faces but the rest of us happily praced around the very movable rocks to check out the place… we found out that Sokcho Mountains is where clouds go to rest a bit…

We got back after a barrage of photo taking… and decided to have a quick snack before being any more touristy.

We had some pancakes with either honey or red bean inside… amazing but def burnt the roof off my mouth.

OK – so decide to go for the waterfall walk… we were worried it would be a bit far but it ended up being a nice walk. I even bumped into some nice filos on the way back from the falls, where I proceeded to practice my tagalog hahah…

So we do the trek… it was easy as pie… got to the falls which by now are quite depleted seeing its nearly winter… but still pretty. After a bit of resty we made the trip back… I flew back in my dress shoes… under 20 minutes.. (I have this thing about going fast down hills… its incredibly dangerous – I dont recommend it)

Anyway… we were starving by now so we went back to the Emart where we lockered our bags and went shopping for groceries. Bought them and jumped into a cab – one real korean in each of the two. Then, in the rain – we got lost… see the pension was a bit difficult to find… but we got there… with the owners keenly waiting for us…

We had dinner in a BBQ area made for guests… this time cooked by a true professional, Iris… who was  champion! We smashed pretty much all of it. The next morning we slept in so we couldnt go see the cliff HaYoung wanted to stop by at. Bus it home… and that’s how we spent a couple of rainy weekends in pretty places.

Credit for Mr Dave and the use of his cool camera, FB account & post-production touchups…

Pretty Places on Rainy Weekends – Part 1

I am just putting up some of my favs from the two (2) trips me & Dave went on with our friends from OZ while they came to visit us  in the land of Kimchi…

Firstly, Jeju-do…

We went to Gimpo Airportflyout to the island and was met with an interesting car rental office

Drove around for ages… the story is the guy who gave us the rental gave us the wrong address… a place called Namwon… which is the OTHER side of the island… so long story short – 1 hr both ways we drove firstly around the island and then through the middle of it… which means we got to preview all the tourist destinations in the first two hours

Anyways – we get to the pension…

The pension was very nice and me & Dave stand as a couple of foreign experts on these thingies (pensions = log cabins for travellers in random places) And for about 11,000W a head/night we are talking about slightly more than a jimjilbang but with the view and location… sweet deal if you ask me…

We are wasted as but still have a bit of brekky with the locals… ended up being cake & coffee hahah…. definitely different to the hot breakfasts I usually knock up….

Hop in the car and drive, drive… first stop is ATV (All-Terrain Vehicles). We ended up going around and around in army gear for an hour or so mother duck style… but it was hella fun… lots of dirt and mud… Mace stayed a good 30m behind me because I polluted his face mask with the dust of the earth

Off to Mount Hallan – famous for its autum leaves and tallest I suspect… it was a bit of walk, and we were hungry… but it was a beautiful view thats for sure….

We went shopping for the goods at a local Non Hyup and did BBQ outside together which was good…

Cards & sleep… we got up kind of early to go check out the gigantic crater volcano thing… but it kinda took longer than expected to get there…

But we did at the end and played around on the beach for a bit… the next foto is of us jumping around like idiots in front of a massive mountain/hole…

p.s. straight after this… Dave dropped the keys in sand… Mason is a wizard key finder – thats all I got to say eh…