Marching on - again

Originally I was going to just call this blog Marching On (so clever isn't it) but then I had a look at my March 2009 post and realised I had the same idea last year, and my uncreative brain can't come up with anything else witty so I have settled for Marching On - again. Pathetic really.


Over a month since the last post, which was just after Lunar New Year in February. Not much has changed since then, I had hoped it would be getting a bit warmer by now but as of yet there hasn't been much of a shift, we had one or two mild days a couple of weeks ago but other than that the thermometer has struggled to get above 5C most days. Chilly. I think this winter has definitely been the coldest out of the three I have had in Korea.

After my last blog post, my next activity worthy of a mention was Lisa and I's road trip at the end of last month. We had a long weekend as March 1st is a national holiday here (in remembrance of an uprising against the Japanese occupation back in the day) so we decided to hire a car and head over to the East Coast and down to Gyeongju.


We picked up the car from Avis bright and early on Saturday morning near Juan station in Incheon. Our ride was a Hyundai Avanate 1.6, in White. Automatic of course, a nice little car.






We managed to get onto the Seoul Ring Road and headed towards Gangchon, where we were going to ski for the afternoon before heading East. Thankfully the traffic was quite quiet, and we made it to Gangchon in about 3 hours. After stopping off at the 'Superman' rental shop to hire skis and gear, we headed up to the slopes. It was the final weekend of skiing, and with the temp well above freezing, the snow quality had suffered quite a lot, it was pretty slushy. Still, the slopes were pretty deserted. I was a bit more adventurous this time and attempted a few more of the Intermediate slopes. On one in particular I bit off a bit more than I could chew and ended up coming out of my skis half way down, and couldn't get back into them, so rather humiliatingly had to walk the rest of the way down. Here's a couple of photos from the slopes and a link to the FB album.

Superman ski rental. They gave us free socks too!

Looking down from the top. Notice the absence of snow on the surrounding hills.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=392933&id=777495416&l=e09b3b16c2

After our afternoon skiing we got back in the car and headed East. I did most of the driving over, Lisa was pretty tired after the skiing and morning driving. Now, some of you may know that I don't actually have a license, so in retrospect it was probably a silly thing to be doing, if we had got into an accident things could have gotten very tricky, but hopefully I will pass my test this summer back home so the situation will never have to happen again. As I will explain later, I still have a bit to learn about driving!

We got over to the coast quite late, and decided to try and find somewhere to stay in a small town called Jeongdongjin. After enquiring at a few places in town, we ended up going for the aptly name Jeongdongjin Hotel which was a bit out from the centre, but cheaper.

We were up reasonably early the next morning, and headed to the nearby Unification Park. There are two parts to the park, and we only visited the section right by the sea, which has two main attractions. The first is a Ex-US Navy warship, perched right next to the water, and the second is a captured North Korean spy submarine.

The warship. It was a destroyer I think. Served 1st with US Navy, then with the Korean Navy.

View from the bow of the warship looking over to the NK submarine.

Looking aft from the bridge. Note how close the sea is! Apparently it is the only warship of this size on display on land in the world.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for the ship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Everett_F._Larson_(DD-830)

We were able to walk around most of the deck, and have a good look around inside too (though sadly the engine-room was off limits). The equipment looked really dated there were massive banks of switches and the radars looked pretty primitive. Still, very interesting.

Then it was over to the submarine. In 1996, 11 crew and 15 soldiers and North Korean spies were crammed into the submarine, presumably on a mission to do naughty things in the South. Unfortunately, the sub got stuck on some nearby rocks so the commander shot the crew and then escaped onto land, and attempted to return back to the North. For the next 49 days a deadly manhunt ensued, which resulted in the killing of all but one of the North Koreans, along with 17 South Koreans. A fascinating, if morbid story, and worth remembering that this all happened only 14 years ago. We put on some hard hats and took a hunched-up walk through the submarine, god only knows how 26 people survived in there, it was tiny!

Lisa and I with our hard hats on.

Then, it was back in the car to head down the coast. The next stop was the 'Penis Park.' Lisa and I had already experienced Koreans fascination with penises on Jeju when we visited Love Land, but this took it to another level. Perched on a rocky part of the coast South of Samcheok, the park was literally full of penis. Wooden penises, stone penises, metal penises, statues of men with penises, they were all there. Some of the sculptures were quite clever, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it pretty. After a while we were both a bit penised-out, so we took a little walk down to the beach, the water looked very clean, although the omnipresent Anti-NK barbwire fence was a bit of a blight on the landscape. Here's a couple of pics from the park. If you're not a fan of penises, you might want to skip through this bit.

This is what greets you when you enter.........

Lisa holding a big penis.

So many things wrong with this photo. These fishermen are supposedly ejaculating into the sea, which according to Korean legend was supposed to bring good fishing. What I find even more disturbing is that there are several children posing for photos in the background.

Slightly overawed by the amount of penis we'd just experienced, we got back in the car and continued South. We took a rest stop at Uljin, and it was there that I had my mishap. I was reversing out of a parking space and started turning too early, with the result that our front bumper scraped along the side of another parked car. There was a bit of paint missing, but thankfully no-one was about so we carried on our way, me feeling very stupid and Lisa not the least bit pleased. Thankfully, we had taken out the maximum insurance possible, so when we returned the car we only had to pay £25 excess.

We arrived in Gyeongju that evening. Gyeongju used to be the capital of the ancient Shilla kingdom, and is known as the 'museum without walls' due to the large number of historical sites within the city. Upon arrival we checked out the burial tombs in Tumuli park. They are similar in idea to the pyramids of Egypt, but not quite as grand in scale. Still, it was an strange sight to see all these big mounds in the middle of a city.

One of the tombs. For scale, you can see a person at the foot of the mound on the left.

We walked around for a bit, and went inside one of the tombs, which was pretty boring. As it was getting late, we found a motel for the night, wandered around for ages trying to find a Bossam restaurant (we failed, and ending up going to Pizza Hut!) and then went to bed, exhausted after a long day.

The next day, we woke up to the sound of rain outside. It was wet. Undeterred, we drove a bit out of town to Bulguksa temple, reputedly the crowning glory in Shilla temple architecture (not that I would know!) It was quite impressive, if a bit soggy.

The steps to the temple. There are 33, representing the 33 stages to enlightenment.

One of the temple buildings. There were quite a few Buddhist monks praying inside.

After Bulguksa it was back in the car and up a very windy road to Seokguram Grotto, where it was even wetter and windier! The grotto itself was a bit disappointing, one large seated Buddha which we weren't allowed to take photos of, and a walk through the trees and back that destroyed Lisa's umbrella.

The grotto. Wet.

Me fighting to save the umbrella. I lost. I miss oilskins!

Seokguram Grotto proved to be the final attraction we visited on our road trip, as we had agreed to drop the car off in Incheon at 6pm. We left Gyeongju at 12pm, and started heading North on Route 1 (Gyeongju-Seoul is about 400km). The driving conditions were terrible for the 1st half, but the road was reasonably quiet. After a stop at Daejon, the rain disappeared but was replaced with cars, lots of cars. From Daejon to somewhere outside Suwon, we rarely (if ever) got over 40mph. Soul-destroying. I called Avis and explained the situation, they were understanding and said we could return the car the next morning at no extra cost, so that took the pressure off a bit. Still, we just wanted to get home. Eventually (around 8pm!), we got to Bupyeong in time to see Mairead, Jo and Marie who were leaving the next day, and finally, after dropping the car off at Avis (I went and handed in the keys the next morning) we got back to Yeonsu, tired but happy after a good trip. For me, it was the final piece in the jigsaw with regards to where I still wanted to visit in Korea, I now feel I have been everywhere here I really want to go.

Since the road trip, nothing much has happened. I went to an Incheon FC game a couple of weekends ago with Neil and few other folk, here's a link to the album on FB, the photos of the game are on page 3:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=366191&id=777495416&l=3996f5a50a

Sadly, Dragan no longer plays for Incheon, but he has been replaced by another Balkan boy, Koroman. He played for Portsmouth for a while, and scored for Incheon in the dying minutes of the game. Overall, the attendance was one of the lowest I've seen and the standard of football was not much better. Still, it's a game, I think I will go to one more before I go, Incheon play local rivals FC Seoul on May 9th, it will be a bit warmer by then which will help too.

Neil with the ball he caught (taking out several Korean children in the process!)

What other news before I finish? Well, one of the foreign teachers that I worked with, Toni, did a runner last month. She left during the night and left behind a note saying 'I was sad. So I have left.' Fair enough, but maybe give some notice. Korea isn't for everyone, but leaving like that is very selfish as it puts other people in the shit. Luckily, a guy called Chris was able to fill in until a permanent replacement could be found, so the classes weren't affected that much. The new teacher, an English girl called Sally, arrived last week and seems to be settling in well.

I am forging ahead with my SE Asia plans, I booked another domestic flight from Hue-Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, but still haven't decided on a route after that. I really want to go to Laos but it is proving tricky (and expensive) to go from Cambodia to Laos, which would be my ideal route.

I'm still trying to get out running in the mornings, although the frequency has dropped a bit recently, although I have played football a couple of times, which left me very stiff afterwards (getting old!) I am also nearing the end of my Lent diet, this year I have given up junk food, chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks. I am allowed cereal bars and coffee, but everything else is off-limits. So far I've stuck to it pretty well, I had some ramyeon (instant noodles) tonight but I'm not sure if you can strictly call it junk food as it was part of my dinner. I see Lisa most weeknights, and on Saturdays I have been meeting up with the boys to watch football and have a few beers.

I am really saving the best news to last here, because on Tuesday Lisa got her unconditional offer to the University of The Sunshine Coast in Australia. She will start a 9 month course there in February next year, and it is my plan to join her over there too. I am very happy for her as she was worrying about whether she'd get in, and it means she (and I) can move ahead with planning a bit more for later this year and next. It is a while away yet, but there is a lot to sort out. So, well done Lisa!X

The next few weeks are looking pretty quiet, and I am happy to keep it that way. I'll update sometime in April, by which time I'll only have a month or so of work left. Quite a thought!

Until then, cheerio.

Goodbye Ox, Hello Tiger

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

It is Monday night here, and I'm at the tail end of the Lunar New Year holiday in Korea. Unfortunately this year it fell on a weekend so we only got one extra day off, but as I will explain below it was still a good holiday. Before that though, a quick update on what I've been up to since my last blog (not a lot!)

January was a pretty full on month for teaching, I had extra classes at both schools, and although they only added up to about an hour extra each day, I had to prepare a bit for them and I finished the month feeling pretty tired. Still, the working hours when compared to other jobs were still not too bad (1-9pm). Plus I received a little extra money, and like Tesco say, 'every little helps'.

In part due to the extra teaching which tired me out, and also that Lisa was away in Vietnam for 2 weeks with some of her friends, AND the cold weather, I lay pretty low for most of the month. Two events that bucked this trend were a trip to Sorae, and a visit to Hongdae to see a Queen tribute band.

The Queen tribute band were part of a 'Rock Night' that was being held in a club called Funky Funky's. In my first year in Korea I spent a lot of time in that club, and had no particular desire to go back, but the band came highly recommended from Neil and Kyongmi so I decided I had to see them. Neil, Kyongmi and I had a few drinks at their place first, then caught the bus into Hongdae and made our way to FF's. We got there a bit before 'Queen' came on, just in time to see a Mika tribute, and a crazy Daft Punk tribute who all wore motorbike helmets, but they were pretty good. Then it was time for Queen. The lead singer came on in a black leather jacket and white vest, complete with fake moustache and slicked back hair. He looked great (interpret that as you will!), but sounded better. His voice was amazing, and he was a great front man. The guitarist was also superb, complete with Brian May style wig and jacket. It was a great set, they played all the classics and Neil and I especially enjoyed 'I Was Born To Love You'. I think Neil took some pictures so if I can get a hold of some I'll post them here.

The only other interesting thing I did in January that merits a mention was a Sunday trip to Sorae, near Incheon. Sorae is a fishing port located at the mouth of a small river, I had seen it a few times when on the nearby motorway but had never thought about going there. After working out how to get there by bus, off I went. It only took about 20mins on the bus, and upon arriving, I went for a walk about the large fish market. Being a Sunday, it was very busy with folk buying and eating all kinds of fish and other seafood. I wandered about for a while, had a walk across a rickety old railway bridge, and a cold walk along the river bank, and then headed back. Here's a couple of photos and a link to some more on FB.

Fishing boats at Sorae.

View seaward from the bridge.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=366191&id=777495416&l=3996f5a50a

It was an interesting afternoon, and probably one of the last new places I feel I had left to explore within a reasonable distance from my home here in Incheon. Seoul still has some places left to visit, but most other places within an hour or two of Incheon that I wanted to see I already have. I suppose that is another indication that my time here in Korea is drawing to a close, I am starting to run out of things to do. If I ever came back to Korea to work and live, I would definitely live somewhere other than Incheon.

Into February, and the 1st weekend saw another ski trip, this time to Vivaldi Park. Callum had managed to procure some free ski passes, so we (Callum, Craig and I) headed there on a free shuttle bus early on Saturday morning. We arrived to a very cold snow park, where things were just getting going. After getting our passes and renting our gear (I opted for a snowboard again), we hit the slopes. To begin with it was quite quiet, but it quickly got busier and busier, to a point where we were waiting 10-15 mins to get on the lifts. I remembered the basics of snowboarding, but still fell over a lot and had to deal with the increasing amount of other people on the slopes, so there were a few collisions. Mid-morning, Conor, Steph and their boss Daniel joined us, and at lunchtime we went to the summit restaurant for some lunch and enjoyed the views. After a few more runs in the afternoon, we boarded the bus back to Bupyeong and had 'several' beers.

It was a great day, and I thank Callum for the opportunity, but as I will explain below, it may be the last time I ever snowboard.

View from the summit at Vivaldi.

Craig and Callum on the slopes.

Coming down on the gondola after my binding broke. You can see the huge queues for the lifts.

Lisa wasn't up for the trip to Vivaldi, but still fancied skiing, so we decided to head to Gangchon this weekend (where I 1st skied in December) as Conor and Steph were going there and also because it can be reached by train (Lisa's not a huge fan of buses and we also knew the traffic at LNY would be terrible). So, it was up bright and early on Saturday to get the subway to Cheongyangni station where we boarded the train to Gangchon. Upon arrival we checked into a motel and met up with Conor and Steph. They had brought the car, so once we'd got ready we drove up to the ski resort. Conor had also bagged some free passes (where do all these passes come from?!) so that helped with the cost. This time I opted to ski. What a revelation it was. I immediately found it easier. Easier to go down the slope, easier to move on the flat snow, and easier to use the ski lifts (although getting off took me a while to master). It felt so good to be able to move down the slopes and not be falling over every 100m. In fact, I never fell at all on the beginner slopes, we had one run at the Intermediate and that caused some problems but even getting back up proved easier on the skis. Here's a couple of pictures and the link to the album on FB.

Lisa on the slopes.

The queue for the lifts. Not busy at all!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=385768&id=777495416&l=77535d9386

After an afternoon skiing we headed back to our motel to freshen up and then went for a nice dakgalbi dinner and couple of beers. The next morning, Conor and Steph headed off back to Seoul but Lisa and I hung around and rented some quad bikes. We went along the same road as I had on the last trip, although this time it was a lot snowier which made things interesting. I love quad biking, it's great fun!

After the biking we caught a train back to Seoul, and made our way over to Gangnam. We had tried to go to a Brazilian restaurant there before Christmas but it was fully booked, so this time I made reservations. Basically, you pay 25,000 Won (about £12) and this gets you some small side dishes and an unlimited supply of meat. The waiters come round the tables with all sorts of different meats, steak, pork, lamb, sausages, ham, all delicious. After a while we got too full and had to decline any more, but it was a great feed. After dinner we walked back to Gangnam station and got the bus back to Incheon from there.

The outside of the restaurant (I forgot to take pictures of the food)

Today, I had a lazy day with Lisa, we headed over to New Songdo in the hope that a Western cafe there would be open but it wasn't, so we came back to Yeonsu and had some tofu stew and then ice-cream. I am planning on giving up junk food for Lent, so it may have been my last ice-cream for a while!

Although January was a quiet month, I have been busy planning my trip to SE Asia in May/June. I've booked my flight to Bangkok, so all the major travel is now booked and paid for. I still need to decide on my overland route from Hanoi-Bangkok, but that can wait a bit. I have also booked my ticket back to the UK in June, so I will leave Korea for good on the 27th.

In the near future, Lisa and I are planning our road-trip that has been postponed a few times, we have long weekend at the start of March so we're thinking then. Lisa is still waiting to hear if she has been accepted into the universities she has applied for in Australia, but all signs are looking positive and I am confident she will get in. Once that has happened, we can think a bit more about those plans but for now they are on hold. Still, that's a while away yet....plenty of time to sort things out. I will finish with a wee photo of me dressed in some lovely ski gear. The next blog will probably come in a month or so, so until then, in the style of Tony The Tiger, I hope your Lunar New Year was Grrrrrrrrrrreat!

Sorry.

New decade, new location? - Part 2

Following on from Part 1, I had left Iona on the early ferry, a throwback to Oban High School days. I had to endure 5 years of that boat, and even as an adult it doesn't get much better. Luckily, Joyce Macintyre was heading up to Tobermory so I got a lift with her across Mull, which saved me having to use the bus. After a few hours in Oban, I got the train down to Glasgow and then another down to Penrith, where Mum came and picked me up in her wee Polo. Like the rest of the country, Cumbria was pretty snowy, but Mum did well navigating the narrow back roads to get us back to her and Mike's Barn.


It was nice to finally meet Mike, he seems like a really nice guy, and most importantly Mum seems really happy with him so that is great. I was really impressed with the barn, it was a lot further on than I had imagined, very open plan with a great breakfast bar area and a massive balcony.

Mum at the kitchen 'island'.

Although I didn't have very long with Mum and Mike, we still managed a nice walk and then a drive through some of the surrounding villages, a coffee with Fiona Reid (one of mum's friends) and a nice dinner with mum and Mike's neighbours. But, all too soon, it was time to head North again. Mum and Mike were heading to Iona for New Year so they gave me a lift to Glasgow, where I stocked up on M&S boxer shorts and socks and was reunited with my washbag and headphones (thanks to Aidan and Greg). Then I met Stewart and Bec and we caught a train up to Perth to meet Granny and Grandpa.

After a snowy journey back to Wester Balgedie, we tucked into one of Grannie's delicious dinners. Stewart and Bec headed to Fife that night but I stayed over, and after a quick walk with Grandpa the next morning, Jock and Grandfather came to pick me up. I think it was nice for all the Grandparents to see each other, it had been a while.

Me and all the grandparents (L-R: Grandpa, Grandfather, Granny)


I missed the last Jardine family gathering (Dad's 50th at Achrossan in 2008) so I was very happy to be part of this one. Of course, plenty of beers and other alcoholic beverages were consumed, the fridge in the picture below was pretty empty by the time I left on the 2nd!

The fridge.

Apart from drinking, there was a good walk on Hogmanay, some delicious food courtesy of many different cooks, and of course, the 'Loony Dook'! The aforementioned basically means 'Crazy Dip' and so on New Year's Day Jock, Calum, Alasdair, Rhona and I went for a very brief swim in the North Sea. With frost and snow still on the ground, I was cold even before I went in, and yes, the water was absolutely freezing! Still, it was a good laugh! Here's a couple of pics:

Baltic!

The Loony Dookers. Note the frost on the ground!

On New Year's Day night we had a delicious turkey dinner, and then a good few more drinks! On the 2nd, I awoke somewhat hungover and a bit depressed, said my goodbyes and headed to Glasgow with Dad and Stewart. I had a bit of a lump in my throat as I said goodbye at the airport, but at least this time it is not for a full year.

Upon my arrival at Incheon, I was surprised and delighted to see Lisa had come to meet me, that really lifted my spirits a lot. I have now been back for over a week, and things are going pretty well. The day after I got back, Korea experienced its heaviest snow for over 50 years, and so on Monday I got a call from my boss saying school was shut! It was a real bonus as I was still a bit tired from travelling. Lisa and I used the time to build a snowman, however it was cruelly destroyed by some children shortly after we had finished it. Still, I did manage to catch it on camera.

And so, as I settle back into the routine of Korea (January is a very busy month, there are extra classes for me as we entertain the kids for longer whilst the schools are on holiday), I am already thinking to the months ahead.

In the short-term, Lunar (Chinese) New Year is in the middle of February, although this year we only get one extra day off. Lisa and I had considered going to Japan, but there really isn't enough time and flights are already booked solid, so instead I think we will stay domestic. Maybe a skiing trip, or possibly do the road trip that was meant to happen in November.

I have told my boss that I intend to finish work at GnB on 21st May. I then plan to fly to Bangkok, from where I have already booked a return flight to Singapore. From there I will fly back to Bangkok, then another flight to Hanoi in Vietnam, and then I will work my way back to Bangkok using an as-yet undetermined overland route. I have about a month to do the whole lot, as I would like to be back in Korea for Euan's wedding which is on the 19th of June. All this depends on whether I can persuade my other boss (Sunny) to let me delay my flight home until after Euan's wedding, or give me the cash equivalent, but I don't think that will be a problem. I'll keep you posted. After his wedding, I will return home to the UK for the summer, and then most likely head overseas again.......that is as yet a draft copy!

Well, that's everything pretty much updated, I'll try and blog again soon, might end up being after Lunar New Year, it'll depend on how exciting my life is between now and then!

All the best for 2010, and the new decade!

Grandfather and all his grandchildren

L-R (standing up): Calum, Stewart, Esther, Catriona, Rhona, Me, Alasdair.

L-R (on the sofa): Hannah, JJ, Freya, Toni.

Album from back home: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=365950&id=777495416&l=03461d0749

New decade, new location? - Part 1

Just noticed this will be my 50th blog post. I started blogging on 29th August 2007, and according to the 'elapsed time calculator', that was 866 days ago. That averages at a blog every 17.32 days. When it comes out like that it doesn't sound so bad! 866 days in Korea (well actually 873, I arrived a week earlier)........quite a long time really. And although I am not tired of Korea yet, the fact is in 6 months I will not be here, and I think I'll be quite happy not to be by then. I have given my boss a leaving date, and after a bit of travelling around SE Asia and big Euan's wedding in mid-June, I will leave Korea for the foreseeable future. Quite a thought.........



I will switch to the past for now though, and detail some events in December. The weekend after the ski trip (and my last blog), Neil and I headed into Seoul for some Christmas shopping. Seoul was busy as usual, perhaps a little busier than normal but not like the massive surge you see back home before Christmas. On our shopping rounds we passed by Gwanghwamun plaza, where a giant snowboard jump had been erected as part of the Hyundai 'Snow Jam'. It was pretty cool to see a massive jump in the middle of the city, and although we only saw the practice session, the competitors seemed of a pretty high standard.

After finishing the shopping I headed back to Bupyeong for a Christmas house party at Craig and Sophie's and then went to Bucheon to carry on the night. More photos at : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=345487&id=777495416&l=0e0f503bcf (page 2)

The weekend after, on the Sunday, Lisa and I had our 'Christmas Day'. After opening our presents (I got a nice jumper, hat and belt) we went to a local place for brunch and then headed into Seoul. First stop was the Grand Hyatt near Itaewon. Around the festive season they convert their outdoor swimming pool into an ice rink (not literally, they put a big platform over the top of it!) and guests and non-guests can go for a skate. It is pricey, but there are great views over the Han River and it's not too big (so you're never too far away from the side!) so we thought we'd give it a try.

Ice skating has never been my strong point. I can still count on one hand the number of times I've done it, and early attempts (at the Time Capsule in Coatbridge) resulted in me running on the ice instead of skating. These days, I can skate, although somewhat Bambi-like. Here's a couple of pics. I am happy to report that neither of us fell over, although there were a few close calls!

View from the rink looking over towards Gangnam.

Get yer skates on!

Lisa and a giant snowflake.

After working up an appetite skating we headed over to near Gangnam where I had heard there was a good Brazilian restaurant. Unfortunately it was fully booked so we walked around for AGES trying to find somewhere and ended up settling on an Italian place near Gangnam station which turned out to be worth the wait (great steak). We headed back to Incheon tired, but happy.

After the weekends fun, it was back to work for 2 days until, on Wednesday the 23rd, it was time for me to head out to the airport for my flight HOME!!!!!!! As it had been over a year since I last set foot on UK soil, I was very excited.

I flew home with KLM, a bit of a mixed bag really, the service mid-flight was good, although there were no individual TV screens which I like, so I was glad to have had my new MP3/video player. I had to change planes at Amsterdam, and the flight to Glasgow was late departing, as they had to de-ice the wings before we could take off. This meant by the time we arrived in Glasgow and I'd got myself into the centre of the city, it was almost midnight.

I'd planned to meet up with some of the boys I went to uni with, and luckily Greg and Gareth came and picked me up in a taxi and we headed straight to a club in the West End. I put my luggage in their locker room and then had a great time catching up with everyone and having a few refreshments. After the club closed, we headed back to Aidan's flat in Partick (via a chippie....yes!) and stayed up for a good while sharing news.

The boys L-R: Gareth, Greg, Me, Aidan, Stewart (Hogg).

I had to catch a train to Oban in the morning, so after a couple of hours sleep I arose zombie-like (forgetting to pick up my washbag and headphones) and made my way to Partick underground to get to Queen St. I didn't really sleep much on the train, which in a way was good as I got to see the winter wonderland that was (and seemingly still is) Scotland. The whole journey was full of snowy mountains, frozen lochs and snow-laden trees. Beautiful, even to a hungover and sleep-deprived person such as me.

Over 6 hours after leaving Glasgow, I stepped off the ferry at Iona to be met by Dad, Anja, Freya, Stewart and Bec. It was good to be home. After the long-awaited cup of tea, Dad, Stewart and I took a walk to the Machair to deliver a present to John and Joanne at Culbhuirg (sp?), and once we were home we all helped decorate the tree.

On Christmas morning, Anja made a pancake breakfast and then we headed up to the Abbey's Christmas morning service. I remember as a child loathing having to go to the service as it usually either delayed the present opening or prevented me from playing with my new toys, but these days I enjoy it. The Abbey is such an amazing building and the service itself is usually enjoyable too.

The Abbey church.

After a light lunch we opened a few presents, although there were so many that we had to do it in stages! I was very happy with my gifts, a few books, DVD's, a couple of pieces of clothing, and few Scottish things (including a malt from Grandfather!). Freya was very happy with her scooter from Santa, and before the dinner we headed along the low road to give her a chance to test it out. Then it was time for the feast. And what a feast it was. A HUGE turkey, all the trimmings, and then Yule log and Christmas pudding for dessert. Delicious.

The bird, and some of the trimmings, including my favourite 'pigs-in-blankets'.

On Boxing Day, it was time for a trip on the water. Dad, Stewart and I headed over in Chance to Bullhole where Birtha Marie (dad's 'new' boat) is moored. It was my first time seeing her underway, I was impressed with how stable and solid she was, and as Dad says she is currently unballasted, once that's in her she will be unstoppable! Hopefully when I'm back home in the summer I can help Dad in getting her ready for some fare-paying passengers.

Dad and Stewartie on Birtha Marie.

In the evening, Stewart, Bec and I went up to Glen and Leanne's for some Wii playing and a good few beers.

On my final full day on Iona, we went for a walk up to the North End and then came back along by the East shoreline, we did a bit of sorting of my and Stewart's old junk and also saw David, Louise and their boys who came round in the afternoon. And then, on the early ferry on the 28th, I was away again. 3 full days, not enough really, but great just to be back at all. Here is the album on FB: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=365950&id=777495416&l=03461d0749

OK, that'll do it for this part, I need to get to my bed. The next part will contain the rest of my visit back home (Mum and Mike's, G&G's and New Year at Windygates), current goings on in Korea and future plans.

It's getting a bit chilly here......I want to warm up in Scotland

I never thought I would think like the blog title says, but it's the truth. Aside from the obvious things I'm looking forward to about going home (family, friends and Irn-Bru), it will be quite nice to not have it quite so cold as it is here. Today was a 'balmy' 7 degrees in Incheon, but the last week or two its been a lot colder than that at times.

Typically British of me to start a blog with talking about the weather, but it does have an effect on so much, even when I'm inside most of the day. The purchase of a new jacket last month was a good buy, and I bought some good gloves a few weeks ago that are helping my fingers overcome my terrible circulation.

Anyway, onto usual blogging matters....updating.

November, as planned, turned out to be quite a quiet month. Lisa and I's road trip has been postponed until sometime next year, things are still not OK between us, and we are currently having a bit of time apart. We do see each other on occasion, and are still in contact every day through phone and the Internet, but until some things get sorted out then it will stay this way. Hopefully not too much longer.

I am lucky that I am not someone who needs to do everything with someone else, and so although not seeing Lisa is hard, I am still trying to do things at the weekends or when I have free time. A few weekends ago, I took a Sunday trip over to 'Central Park' located in New Songdo City. I have never been to the original CP in New York, but I have a feeling the two are similar in name only.

For a start, the Korean version is brand new (it was officially opened last summer), and many parts of it are still under construction, as are many of the surrounding buildings. Secondly, the new Central Park was VERY quiet. Granted, it was a rather cold and dull Sunday afternoon, but I probably only saw about 20 or 30 other people the entire time. However, it was interesting to have a walk-about, and I also took a boat ride too, which I'm always happy to do! Here's a couple of pictures:

Looking up the CP lake (saltwater, pumped in through a big pipe...very clean though, and 1.2m deep everywhere) towards the almost-finished NEATT (North East Asia Trade Tower)

One of the cruise boats heading off. They were built by Hyundai Yachts, and from what I saw they still have a bit of learning to do. The boats themselves were very noisy and vibrated a lot for their size, and the men operating them were pretty poor at berthing, two deckhands on the pier had to pull and shove the boat into position rather than the skipper using the engines. Still, it was nice to get out on the water!

For more photos go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=345487&id=777495416&l=0e0f503bc

Also in the above album are some pictures from GnB's 'Halloween Party'. I use inverted commas here because the party was actually at the end of November. Concern over Swine Flu in Korea meant that the party had to be rescheduled twice. I made minimal effort on the costume and went as..........a Scotsman. Most of the kids wondered why I had a 'skirt' on, and didn't really understand when I told them it was Scotland's national dress, but it was still a good day. Myself and Johanna took shifts playing games with the children, and after it was all over the staff went out for dinner, something which rarely happens at the GnB's I work at now....in my first year we did it quite a lot...how times change!

The teachers

St. Andrews day came and went, like last year I hung a Scotland flag out the window to do my bit at being patriotic, but that was about it. Maybe one day St. Andrew will get the same amount of recognition as his fellow Saint Patrick, but somehow I doubt it!

Last weekend, I joined Conor and Steph, Craig and Sophie and Joynal (who used to work for my 1st year boss and is now teaching in Seoul) for an action weekend in Gangchon, to the East of Seoul. Those of you who read my last post about the weekend in Gapyeong may be interested to know (though I doubt it!) that Gangchon is the next stop after Gapyeong. This time we didn't take the train though, we were able to catch a bus directly from Incheon which was good. Upon arrival in a snowy Gangchon we checked into a motel and then went to a nearby shop to get ourselves kitted out for.......SNOWBOARDING!!! It was my 1st time ever, so I was filled with a mixture of excitement and fear, but everyone was in the same boat (Craig and Sophie had skied a bit but the rest of us were 1st timers or beginners) so that made me feel better.

Ready to go!

We hired the boards and all clothing from the shop and then they gave us a lift up to the slopes. As it is only the beginning of the season only 3 slopes were open but that was plenty for me. We started off on the sledging area which was pretty flat. I was quite surprised how quickly I got the hang of it. After managing to stay up for a while, and then learning how to stop (falling over!) and then starting to learn how to turn a bit, we moved over onto the 1st slope, which posed a new challenge of having to use a chair lift to get up to the top. After a good few runs of this I moved onto the ultimate challenge, the 'Beginner 2' slope. This was a bit longer than the 1st and quite a lot steeper and busier, but had the advantage of having better quality snow. I had a good few goes at that, but towards the end was finding it very tough to get up after falling over (my stomach muscles aren't the best!). I never made it all the way down without falling over, but I enjoyed it a lot and will def try and go again before I leave Korea. Here's a few photos from the afternoon. More are at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=351450&id=777495416&l=6889a2ecf0

The 1st Beginner slope.

The 2nd beginner slope. An 'Intermediate' slope continued on up out of sight to the right. I never went up there. Too scary!

Me heading down....going good................. (camera angle is funny...it wasn't that steep!!)

oh...........

Unfortunately, Conor had a bad fall and had to be taken to hospital towards the end of the afternoon. Luckily, his wrist was not broken but he had to have it in a sling, and he said it was pretty sore, so that was a real shame. Now I understand why Winter Sports insurance costs so much! Apart from some stiff muscles and a tender bottom from all the falling, I was a lot luckier.

After we'd got a lift back into town and freshened up, we headed out for a Dakgalbi dinner and then hit a few bars, including one with a live band/karaoke event which I had a go at!

The next morning, Joynal, Craig, Sophie and I went and hired some quad bikes. They were not as powerful as the 'Big Red's' that we have on Iona, but they were nippy enough. We headed up some very snowy and icy mountain roads, and played around on a dry river bed for a while, it was great fun, although very cold.

Me and my bike

Fording the stream.

And then, all too soon, it was time to head back to Incheon. It was great weekend though, and as I said before, I would like to do it again before I leave Korea next year.

It is now less than 2 weeks until I will be back on UK soil, and I have 9 days of teaching left (not that I'm counting!). I'm going to head into Seoul this weekend to do some Christmas shopping, and then the following weekend Lisa and I are going to have a Christmasy day in Seoul I think, as obviously we will not be able to spend Christmas together. This may well be my last post of 2009, but I will try to fit in a year (or maybe even decade) review at some point, either between Christmas and New Year, or when I return to Korea (3rd January).

Until then, have a great festive period, stay warm and for those of you in the UK, hopefully I'll get to see you when I'm back.

Love, Neil

Here's a couple of my favourite Christmas Film moments to get you in Christmas mood if you're not already!

Elf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jyCfRHumHU&feature=PlayList&p=8FAB8BF06A93DB43&index=0&playnext=1

Bad Santa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOm64YHDDik

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TYlOTajXGg

Autumn

As promised, here is my 'early November' blog.

It's a Wednesday night, Wednesday the 11th November, a day special in the UK and Korea, but for very different reasons. In the UK, it is remembrance day, where we reflect on past conflicts and remember those who gave their lives for our country.

In Korea, it is Peppero day. For those that don't know, Peppero is a chocolate snack that is quite popular here. It is somewhere between a Cadbury's Finger (in taste) and a Matchmaker (in appearance). As far as I know, Peppero Day was dreamt up by the Lotte company (who make them) as a marketing gimmick, and boy has it worked! All day Peppero was flying about the school, the Korean teachers received a lot more than I did, and I gave out a few in every class as well.

When I last blogged, Korea was still reasonably green, everything was still looking pretty alive and fresh. Now, just over a month on, Autumn is definitely here. The trees are all turning shades of yellow, orange, brown and red, and most of the undergrowth is starting to die off. I notice it most when I go running down by the stream near Yeonsu. The cycle path that runs along the stream was being encroached by a lot of undergrowth a month ago, but today when I went for a run it had all died back. As for weather, it is yet to get really cold (although we had two days of near-freezing temperatures last week), but I am now wearing a sweater to school most days and I recently invested in a new winter jacket in preparation forwhat is to come!

Following on from my last blog, it was Canadian Thanksgiving Day on the 12th October so the previous day Lisa, her friend Candice and I headed through to one of Lisa's friends (Lisa was the bridesmaid at her wedding) and her husband who live in a suburb south of Seoul. We made some cookies specially, which actually tasted quite good! There was a quite a few people there, and we played a few games and ate roast chicken, mashed potato and various other goodies....a nice change from Korean fare.

The following weekend was Lisa's birthday weekend. On the Saturday we headed into Seoul mid-afternoon, and caught a 'deluxe' taxi up to N-Seoul tower (the N stands for Namsan...the mountain it sits on top of http://www.nseoultower.net/english/) I had a reserved a table at 'N-Grill' the revolving restaurant at the top of the tower. It was a great meal, and of course the view from our table was pretty nice too. Some of the 8 courses included smoked salmon, sorbet, a delicious Waygu steak and a little personalised cake for Lisa too. It was pricey, but worth it. Here is a link to the FB album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=329832&id=777495416&l=b50c32e565





Lisa with her bubbly.





The view from our table. Looking down to central Seoul.

After dinner we took the cable car back down the mountain and then caught a taxi over the river to Gangnam where we found a hotel for the night. The next morning, we headed on the subway to Seoul Grand Park. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, this huge park has a zoo, theme park and various other attractions. First stop was the zoo, where we saw (as you might expect at a zoo) a variety of different animals. Some of the enclosures were quite good (especially for the birds) but some were also a bit poor (I felt sorry for the bears in particular). Also many of the Korean visitors were doing things like throwing food to the animals, and we saw one man kick a pane of glass that a baby lion was sleeping against....I think respect for animals in Korea is sadly a lot less than back home. It was nice to wander about though, and I think Lisa had a good time. After seeing most of the animals we caught a chair lift back down to the zoo entrance then a funny little tram decorated as an elephant to the theme park entrance.

Seoul Land is probably the 2nd or 3rd biggest park in Korea (after Everland and Lotte World). We bought a 'big 5' ticket, and then proceeded to queue for ages to get on: dodgems, 2 rollercoasters, a sort-of merry-go-round and the haunted house (the latter was a bit disappointing, but the others were good).

After leaving Seoul Land we caught the subway back to Gangnam and then the bus back to Incheon. Overall, I think Lisa had a great time, which was the main thing, and I enjoyed myself too!

The next weekend was quiet, but the following Monday, I had an unexpected day off. Korea is currently in the grip of a swine-flu epidemic, and as a precaution one of my academies decided to close down for two days to prevent the spread of it among the students. I decided to make the most of this bonus day, so I headed out to a few islands West of Incheon. Getting there involved taking two ferries and a bus (a bit like getting to Iona!), and once I was on the main island, a bus took me across to the middle one (they were all connected by bridges), where I was able to hire a bike. The islands have a small population and are not a very popular destination (especially in October) so it was really quiet, a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Incheon. I cycled around, visiting a couple of areas used in the filming of famous Korean TV dramas, and saw a sculpture park with several 'interesting' statues. Here is the FB album link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=332899&id=777495416&l=7221525b84

On the way back to Incheon I came back across the new Incheon Bridge. It really is a huge structure, and also cuts about 40 mins off travel time out to the airport from Yeonsu which will be great whenever I fly anywhere.

For Halloween weekend, it was off on another trip. This time it was with Lisa and the friends we saw at Canadian Thanksgiving. They had hired a pension (self-catering house) near a town called Gapyeong (about an hour East of Seoul) so on Saturday morning it was up bright and early to make the trip into Seoul to catch a train there. Once we arrived at Gapyeong we stocked up on groceries and then got a lift out to the house. it was quite remote, hidden up a valley and surrounded by trees all in glorious colours. Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived it started to rain, but we went for a game of football anyway....although we got absolutely soaked! After we'd dried off it was time for some movies and games, and then the owners brought us up a ready-to-cook-on BBQ to our balcony for us to cook dinner on. We had some Samgyeopsal (thick cut bacon...very fatty) and some DELICIOUS steak, and then played a few more games before bed. The next day we had planned to go ATV'ing (quad biking) but time was too short so Lisa and I went for a wee walk before we headed back to Gapyeong. We had a nice Dakgalbi lunch before the train took us back to Seoul. It was a great weekend, I was a bit worried about fitting in, as I was the only European there, but it was a good laugh and I met some nice people. Here is the photo album, the photos from Gapyeong begin on page 4.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=291456&id=777495416&l=c39fd4db88

Beautiful colours.

Group shot. Spot the Scot?!

And that pretty much brings us up to speed. Last weekend was spent in Seoul shopping on Saturday, and then on Sunday Neil, Callum and I went to a sauna up in Bucheon, which was relaxing. Neil and Kyongmi are back from their extended break at home and in Europe, it sounds like they had a great time and they are busy looking for work now that they're back in Korea. This weekend I think Neil will come down to Yeonsu for some gaming and a few beers. November is so far quite quiet, although Lisa and I are planning on taking a road trip down the East coast in 2 weekends time. Apart from that I have nothing else planned.

School is still going fine, a few Korean teachers have come and gone but my schedule is pretty much unchanged, and I am still enjoying it, every day is different, and the job still challenges and rewards me which is good. Lisa and I have had a rocky last couple of months, but we are still together and I am going by the saying 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. I hope it's true.

I am now really looking forward to going home at Christmas, my plans when I'm back in Scotland are a bit clearer, my time will mainly be split between Iona, mum down in Penrith and the Philps in Fife, with stops to see granny and grandpa and in Edinburgh too. It's going to busy, but it will be so nice to be home again and to see everyone.

I will update the blog before I return to the UK, until then I will leave you with the English writing on my bread bag, it's priceless. Someone could make a good bit of money advising big companies out here how to use English properly on their advertising.

"Paris Baguette 56 Hour Premium White Bread - It kneads a dough with the boiling wter high temperature and hour from low temperature and maturing a natural taste deeply and it saves with chewy it is soft there is the recording wall hun-dred which it will chew it does and a possibility of feeling simultaneously with the bread. the flavor taste there is a possibility of seeing and it is a bread."

That is word-for-word. All the spelling and punctuation is as it is on the packet, the only thing I have done is change it from all capital letters to all lower-case. Amazing. My favorite part is the final 5 words.