Christmas?

Time for a blog update I think:

So we are now in the run in to Christmas here, we have one full week of teaching left after this one and then the "holiday" season begins. I have put holiday in inverted commas because Christmas over here is not really as much of a big deal as it is back home. The big department stores and some of the smaller shops have got Xmas decorations, and the centre of Seoul is looking very festive (see below) but overall it's quite refreshing......I sometimes find the constant ads back home a bit too much!

Last weekend I went into Seoul on Saturday to an area called Insadong, which has many antique shops and art galleries, but also plenty of souvenirs as well. I picked up a few bits and pieces, but it was also nice just to wander around and see another bit of Seoul.

After being in Insadong for an hour or so, I caught the subway to Dongdaemeun, another area of Seoul that has one of the biggest markets in the city. I really didn't estimate how big either. It's not like a standard market, like a farmers market with a few stalls or anything, it is literally a massive complex of hundreds of different buildings, with different areas selling different articles. I wandered about for a while, and ended up in one big building whose ground floor sold two things exclusively;

Buttons, and Ties. It was the most amount of buttons and ties i have ever seen, and if I ever need a button, or a tie, I now know where to go.

Here is a picture, but it doesn't really show you the scale of it all.

I also went to a big department store in Dongdaemeun called Dooti where I bought some deodorant (very difficuilt to find in Korea) and a hat, as it's starting to get awful chilly out here!

Then it was back to Incheon, but not before a lovely dusk walk back up to City Hall (the centre of Seoul I suppose) from Dongdaemeun up the Chungguchun (the stream that flows through central of the city, a classic example of good urban regeneration in my opinion).

This is a view looking up towards City Hall. It's easy to forget you are in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world with scenes like this. The stream is really clean, I saw a few fish and there is no litter whatsoever.

Seoul's government is in the process of erecting the Xmas lights around the main square at City Hall, it looks like once they're up and on it will be a pretty impressive sight. There is also a big outdoor ice rink and a giant (fake) tree. And here are some decorations that are already up and running, on the front of the Seoul Plaza hotel.

I really enjoyed having a good walk around some different bits of Seoul, and do a wee bit of shopping at the same time!

The main purpose of this post however, is to give you a bit of an update on plans for the next few months. Starting with Christmas, myself, Neil and a couple of others are planning on heading into Seoul, getting a couple of nice hotel rooms, and putting our feet up, enjoying a good xmas dinner, maybe sipping a few whiskeys and generally having a relaxing time. Unfortunatley, I only have Xmas day off but we'll probably head in on Christmas Eve and come back on Boxing Day morning.

I think we're also going to go to Seoul for New Year. I have managed to get Hogmanay off so I think I will don the kilt, and get to City Hall where the crowds gather and the atmosphere is supposed to be amazing.

Then, I have managed to get a couple of days holiday at the end of January so I think i'm going to book a trip with Adventure Korea ( a company that specialises in taking western groups on trips in Korea) to one of the ski/snowboard parks near Seoul. I think I will give snowboarding a go but I am a complete beginner so will no doubt spend most of the time on my bum!

And then, the week after, which is Lunar New Year (3 day holiday), Neil and I plan to go to Osaka in Japan for a few days. We are going to book the flights in the New Year and will probably stay in a "capsule" hotel (cosy!). We have spoken to a few people who have been to Japan and they all raved about Osaka, but said that Tokyo was "so-so". Given that, and the fact it is cheaper to go to Osaka, that's where we're headed.

So, that's the plan for the next wee while. Right now, I'm just looking forward to a wee bit of time off over Christmas and tucking into some roast potatoes!

I will aim to update between Xmas and New Year, so, until then, much love and:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!