After dinner we caught a taxi over to near City Hall where Lisa had bought tickets for a show called 'Jump!' It is billed as a 'comedy/martial arts performance' and it was absolutely brilliant. The story revolves around a slightly unconventional Korean family who are all strangely good at martial arts. It was both very funny and visually stunning, all without really any speaking at all, all the comedy comes through actions. Here is a Youtube link for a preview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1R12jUIonQ&feature=related
We were sitting a few rows from the front and so, inevitably, being a Westerner (Lisa swears it had nothing to do with it being my birthday!) I was pulled up on stage for some audience participation. I had to do some forward rolls and also got frisked (and they somehow discovered I was carrying lots of knives and other weapons...very clever!). I'm not very good at stuff like that but they were very professional, and I got a free program from it! Here's a photo of me with one of the cast.
We spent the night in Seoul and after Lisa did some souvenir shopping for her imminent return home and I got a tie for Neil's wedding, we headed down to the Han river to hire some bikes and go for a cycle. It took us a while to find a hire shop (they are redeveloping a lot of the riverbank right now so the shop I hired from last year had disappeared) but once we'd got some bikes we headed along the cycle lane upstream towards Jamsil. For some reason I don't have any photos of that but Lisa might....I'll see. It was nice to back on a bike again, although the river had recently flooded so there was quite a lot of smelly mud caking everything. They had cleared the actual cycle lane though, so at least we didn't have to ride through it! After that it was back to Incheon for some Vietnamese (Pho) and then home. A great weekend, all courtesy of Lisa. Thankyou!
On my birthday, the Monday, I was working, Greg got a cake though which was lovely and it was a nice day.
After a short Mon-Thurs at work we had the Friday off, and so it was into Seoul to check into the Hamilton Hotel in Itaweon for the start of the wedding weekend. Greg, Lisa and I went to the outdoor pool for a bit and relaxed, and then in the evening Greg and I headed to the World Cup stadium to meet Neil and his dad to watch Manchester United play FC Seoul. It was very busy, the busiest I've seen the stadium (mostly Man U fans) and it was a good game too, Manchester eventually winning 3-2. Park Ji Sung, the local boy, played about 20mins and got a big roar when he came on.
Here is a link to the photo album on Facebook (the game photos are at the end) and one from the stadium.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238531&id=777495416&l=d95cc70694
The next day (Saturday) it was the big day; Neil and Kyongmi's wedding. Greg and I went to an Austrian deli for breakfast (sausages and saurkraut....mmmmm!.... Anja's influence there I think!) then got dressed and headed over to Gangnam where Neil was getting dressed and his hair and make-up (!) done. Once he was ready I headed back to Itaweon to pick up Lisa and then we headed to the wedding venue. It was a lovely Italian restaurant with a garden area where the actual ceremony took place. Before proceedings got underway the photographer took the wedding photos, and then once guests had arrived the ceremony got underway. It was a mix of Western and Korean traditions, Neil's mum and aunt wore Hanboks (traditional Korean dresses) and one of Kyongmi's friends did a lot of translating so everyone could understand everything. Greg gave a reading, I gave a small speech as did one of Kyongmi's friends Marie, and then Kyongmi and Neil read other vows they had written themselves, an emotional moment. Kyongmi also sang a Korean song to her new husband, she has a lovely voice. Finally the rings were exchanged with Neil's dad presiding, and the new couple walked up the aisle to loud applause. It was a great ceremony, that despite some things being a bit last-minute, was very well thought out and personal, not like some of the factory-line weddings that are quite common in Korea, where everyone comes for the food and then leaves. After the ceremony had finished, we were treated to a great buffet by the restaurant and then went back to James Tucker and his girlfriends massive apartment for some post-wedding drinks. I am so happy the wedding went so well for Neil and Kyongmi, and as I said in my speech, I wish them all the love and happiness for the future.
Here is the FB link to the rest of my wedding photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=287542&id=777495416&l=8975f8eaa5
After the wedding weekend it was back to work, but only for two days. On Wednesday, it was the first of GnB's annual vacation, and I used the day to visit a place I had wanted to go to last year, but never got round to it. After a LONG bus journey (going a short distance) I got to Ganghwa Island, a large island connected by bridge to Mainland Korea that sits North of Incheon and near the DMZ. I went and saw a large Dolomen (standing stone-type thing) and also visited a seaside village called Oepori, but overall it was a pretty disappointing trip. Gangwha was like pretty much everywhere else I've been to in Korea, and I spent a long time on buses getting there and back. Never mind, at least I finally got there!
Here is the FB album from Ganghwa, and also the photos from Greg, Tim and I's Busan trip (see below for description)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=291456&id=777495416&l=c39fd4db88
The next day, Greg, Tim and I caught a bus to a city called Changwon, which is where Jeremy and his girlfriend are now living. We had a good night out there and the next day caught a bus into nearby Busan. We stayed in the same hotel that Neil, Gordie and I had stayed in when we went down in September 2007, however this time Busan, and in particular the main beach (Haeundae), were much busier. On the Saturday, we headed to Haeundae but it was SO busy that you couldn't even see the sand for parasols, so in the end we caught a taxi to another quieter beach where we could see the sand and actually get some space. We had a good few games, Greg and I hired rubber rings and attempted to surf on them, and had a good few beers. A nice day. The next day we caught a lunch-time KTX (high speed train) back up to Seoul. It was great trip, and nice to Jeremy again.
Haeundae beach. The sand is there somewhere...under all the parasols!
Sweaty Boys!
And so, a week ago today, Greg left Korea and headed back to Scotland. I think he was happy to be leaving although I know that he enjoyed himself out here a lot. I was very sad to see him go, he was my workmate 4 days a week and always around for dinner, playing football or a few beers. Hopefully he will get a job back home soon, but if not....you know you're always welcome back here big guy!
Greg left on Monday and on Thursday Lisa left to head back to Canada (but only for a couple of weeks.....I hope!) so it's a bit quieter in Yeonsu-Dong these days! Greg's replacement Johanna arrived on Wednesday and started teaching today so I've been helping her get settled in. Another new guy who I worked with at Scottish Widows in Edinburgh arrived last month so I met up with him last night and watched the football, and on Saturday I went up to Bucheon to Neil and Kyongmi's to have a wee party, as it's Neil's birthday today. We had a surprise party for him in Goose Goose on Friday which went down well, so although things have been quieter there is still stuff going on.
In future plans, well, Lisa returns at the end of August, it will be good to see here again. Neil and Kyongmi are heading to Scotland and Europe for 7 weeks at the start of September, it's a shame they're not going to be back at the same time as me but it makes sense for them to go then for lots of reasons, so I hope they have a great time.
For Chuseok Lisa and I are booked to go to Jeju where we hope to hire a car (Lisa has her International Drivers License) and explore a bit. I was there with Stewart not so long ago but am delighted to be going back, and Lisa has never been so it'll be new for her. Talking of flying, I have booked my flights home for Christmas, I am flying to Glasgow with KLM on 23rd December, and then flying back to Korea on the 2nd of January. The rough plan is to go to Iona for Christmas, then head to Mum and Mike's between Christmas and New Year, and then be somewhere in the Central Belt for New Year. I am really looking forward to coming home, it will have been over a year since I was in the UK and my first Christmas back home since 2006/2007.
In the meantime, I'm going to continue teaching away (I have one more week of the busy intensive period then it'll calm down a bit again) and try to save a bit of cash.
Lots of love, Neil
Lisa and I at Neil and Kyongmi's wedding
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