halong bay

one of the places i didn't get to go the last time i was in vietnam is also one of the most well-known areas in vietnam, halong bay...i ate breakfast, checked out of my hotel, and was picked up by the tour bus, near the start of all the pickups...i got a seat near the front of the bus, which is always important to me, given my tendency to end up with motion sickness...

boarding the boat:)

it's a four hour drive from hanoi to get to the port where everyone gets on a boat...not surprisingly, there was a stop about halfway through, at a (huge) place where we could buy snacks and souvenirs...tons and tons of tour buses stopped at this place, there was nothing else anywhere close...i always wonder how many people actually buy stuff (other than food i mean) at these places...during the bus ride i figured out where most of the others were from, it was fun to listen to the conversations...there were two other american girls sitting in the back, and i learned that they were also teaching in korea...they didn't stop talking the entire bus ride, and their voices carried...i was once told that i'm the loudest person a certain someone knows, so now, everytime i hear people who are louder, i laugh and wonder what that original person would think...(does that make sense to anyone but me?)...also on the bus were three dutch, a spaniard, and i've forgotten who else...the american girls dominated the conversation...the guide tried to teach us a few things to say, but the only one i remembered was "thank you"...it sounded like 'gom eun' to me...
at the port, our guide collected our passports, and went to get our boat tickets...there were a lot of people milling around, so the whole area was rather confusing...when he came back with the tickets, he handed those out, as well as our passports...this was when he told us that our tour included everything but drinks, and that there would be drinks available for purchase on the boat...he also told us that if we brought drinks on the boat from other sources that we'd have to pay a service fee...i HATE when those sorts of things are told to the guests when it's too late to do anything about it...that's not what i signed up for, and i wasn't inclined to "obey"...

we got on the boat, and he gave a longer speech, telling us the schedule for the rest of the day...he also introduced the captain, and gave us a few details about the boat...(where it was built, how much it cost, etc)...after the speech we were checked into our rooms, i ended up sharing with one of the dutch girls...then lunch was served...5 or 6 courses? it was great food, i enjoyed every bite...and ate way too much, of course...i was sitting at a table with the three dutch folks, so the conversation was in both languages...

after lunch was over everyone went outside and relaxed, enjoying the scenery...it was sooo nice to lay in the sun and just watch the world go by...who doesn't like this kind of scenery? it wasn't as stunning as i expected, but still absolutely lovely...two hours after leaving the dock, the boat arrived at a cave...

i've forgotten the name of it, which can probably be found in my guidebook...not surprisingly, our boat arrived about the same time as every other boat, which meant the area was uber crowded...yuck...howeva, i knew going in that halong bay would be busy, and that i wasn't going somewhere secret...our guide bought our tickets, we got off the boat and walked up the stairs...the cave isn't at water level, you have to walk up about 50 stairs (give or take) to get to the entrance...and it's not a spelunking kind of cave...the caverns were HUGE, there were pathways through the whole thing...

 our guide told the group various facts about the cave, like how old it is, how big it is, how many people see the cave, etc...at least, i assume he did, i wasn't paying much attention to him...many areas were lit with coloured lights, i tried to get a few good photos...i kept getting distracted by photo opportunities, and ended up behind most of the group, but oh well...i reasoned to myself that i wasn't missing much...i've seen a fair number of caves, and i've never heard anything super different from "this cave has been around for a long time"...hee hee...

eventually we all got out and gathered together to get back on a smaller boat...(this smaller boat took us from the big boat to the cave earlier)...the smaller boat then took us to an area where we could go kayaking...think recreational kayaking, like you did at summer camp years ago...not kayaking on whitewater rapids where you need a skirt...i ended up in a boat with an aussie girl, we had fun paddling around for 45 minutes...when we brought our kayak back to the kayak place we were losing light, fast...

halong bay isn't mountainous exactly, but when the sun goes behind one of the karsts, you don't see much anymore...the american girls were 15 minutes late bringing back their kayak, and since it was chilly by that point, people weren't happy...they apologized, saying they didn't know what time they were supposed to come back...the little boat took us all back to our big boat...just after getting back on the big boat, ladies rowing boats filled with snacks and drinks rowed up to the big boat and tried to get us to buy stuff...

their prices were way cheaper than the big boat...they were pretty persistent, but i didn't want anything, so i was good at ignoring them...a few folks did buy from rowboat ladies, and that's when one of the big boat waiters came out and handed them a laminated paper that said how much they had to pay as the service fee: $8 for a bottle of wine, $1 for soft drinks and cans of beer!!! how ridiculous is that? i said it was ridiculous, AND that we hadn't been told about this 'service fee' before the tour started, and he told me to be quiet...i told him that i would not, and that he shouldn't tell me to be quiet, because i'm the customer...he said the boat had drinks, so we didn't need to buy from the rowboat ladies...i told him the big boat drink prices were ridiculous ($1 for a small bottle of water on the big boat, vs less than 50 cents for a big bottle of water in hanoi) so it wasn't a service to the customers at all...i don't think anyone paid the service fee, because it was such a ridiculous amount, and we all felt the whole thing to be underhanded...first, in not telling any of the guests that the fee existed, and second in not telling how much it was until after people bought stuff off the rowboat ladies...
anywho, after that was dinner, another 5 or 6 course meal...YUM...when we all finished  eating and the plates/food had been cleared, our guide turned on the karaoke machine...he seemed oblivious to the massive feedback, though the rest of us were covering our ears...one of the american chickies seemed keen to sing all night long, the rest of us didn't care...i stayed for a little while, then went to my cabin and read for a while before sleeping...the chick i shared with came in not too much later, having stayed up drinking with her friends...about an hour later, she puked...whoops!! fortunately, nothing other than her sheets got dirty...i'm sure the housekeepers enjoyed the smell...whoops...

the next morning my cabin partner slept and slept and slept, i woke up early (0600 local time) and changed quietly, the went out to the deck to wait for breakfast to be served...in keeping with what had happened at every previous meal, it was served later than the time they told us...oh well...also in keeping with every previous meal, there was a lot of food, and it was good...i continued to overeat...hee hee...we weren't able to get into the dining room at all early, because that's where the boat staff slept...after breakfast everyone checked out of the rooms...the boat then 'drove' through more of the bay, which was again nice and relaxing...after another hour or so, all of us on the 3 day/2 night tour got off the big boat and switched onto a smaller boat...those on the 2 day/1 night tour stayed on the big boat, which then made it's way back to the original port...the smaller boat then went for an hour to cat ba island...it's an island in the bay that has a national park...we got off the boat, and got on bicycles that were conveniently waiting for us...i remembered to check my tires and my brakes before taking off, thank goodness...

the ride went around part of cat ba island, which has it's own national park...the bikes were one speed cruisers, not exactly built for speed...one of the ladies in the group is really into triathlons, and does a lot of riding at home in/around london (she's an aussie) so this bike wasn't exactly up to par...hee hee...there were a few hills, which were probably only challenging because the bikes weren't exactly speedy...our guide paused several times, so no one ever got too out of breath...

 the ride took us through a couple really small villages...surprisingly, as we rode through, no one tried to sell us anything...at least, not that i was aware...that was a nice difference from the rest of the country...who can resist taking a photo of one of the super cute kids we saw? she didn't talk at all, she just looked...

after riding one way, everyone took a break...well, sorta...i didn't feel the need to buy a drink or any food, so i went walking...the ladies i walked with were both aussie, including the one i mentioned previously...this trip was a catch up for them, they hadn't seen each other for three years, though they had both previously worked together at a hospital...they're physio therapists...they get to work out while at work, how awesome is that? the triathlete and i kept getting into discussions about gadgets and races and training in general...

eventually this boat took us to our hotel on cat ba island...i had the choice of staying in a bungalow, which sounded rustic, and during this trip, i was over that...as we dropped off those who had chosen the bungalows, i was glad i had gone for the hotel...the bungalow was on a nice beach, but it was small, and there was no where else to go...the benefit i would've had if i had stayed there would've been a lot more area in which to swim...there wasn't a decent swimming area in cat ba town, which is where my hotel was located...a bay filled with boats...the triathlete did find a small swimming area, but was creeped out by the locals watching her swim, so she was only in the water for 15 minutes...i walked around cat ba town with the other aussie...we strolled through a local market (which was definitely for locals, as no one tried to sell us anything, and we were just stared at more than anything) and of course i spotted a bakery...i think there is some part of my genetic makeup that never misses a bakery...lol...we both bought treats, she shared with the triathlete...i was thinking only of myself, and of course bought more than i should've...lol...

 after the walk/bakery stop/swimming the three of us rested up before dinner...also choosing the hotel were two aussie boys, but they'd spent most of the tour drinking, so we weren't expecting them to be on time...as it turned out, they didn't show up for dinner at all...which was a mistake on their part, as the food was the best of the entire tour...the same 5 or 6 course meal as usual, all of it great food...breakfast the next morning was lovely as well...a buffet with LOTS of options...fruit, rice, porridge, fried eggs, soup, etc...i ate...too much...again...the boys did make it to breakfast:)
after breakfast we checked out, and got back on the boat...just before boarding i bought blueberry ice cream flavoured oreos...i'd seen them around, and just because i thought the flavour sounded interesting, i figured i should try them...oreos aren't something i crave very often, and i wasn't craving them at this point either, but i wanted to try the flavour...they were good...from there, the boat went by to pick up the folks at the bungalows (the three dutch and the two loud americans)...from there we rode about an hour, then transferred to a bigger boat, just like the one we'd been on earlier in the tour...that boat took us back to the original port in halong bay...and from there, we all got back on the bus, and "enjoyed" the ride back to hanoi...over all, i enjoyed the tour, and i'm glad i did it...but halong bay didn't stun me like i expected...i'm probably just jaded...the best part of it all was being on the "roof" of the boat, and just relaxing as it cruised through the bay...soooo nice:)

welcome back to hanoi and the perfume pagoda

i didn't know exactly where i should go for my winter holidays, i ended up deciding on vietnam...for the third time...my flight to vietnam was christmas day, and this was one of the decorations in the seoul/incheon airport...korea is only 25% christian, but the country definitely gets into the secular aspects of the holiday...there are decorations everywhere...the airport was busy, but efficient, as always...the flight to hanoi was just under 5 hours, a smooth flight...since i was in the second row of the economy cabin, i was able to get off the plane rather quickly, even catching up to the first class businessmen before they got to immigration...immigration  went quickly, and then i got to stand at the baggage carousel for ages and ages...baggage claim is the great equalizer in travel...everyone has to wait, it's just luck when you get your stuff...i waited almost 45 minutes!!
from the airport i took a minibus to hanoi (the airport is 35km outside hanoi) which took an hour...it was a reminder of the craziness of vietnamese traffic...traffic in vietnam never stops, and i rarely saw traffic lights...most people ride motorbikes, and there are a few cars...even at four way intersections, there still are rarely lights!...but i didn't see any accidents, so i guess it works for the vietnamese...as soon as i got off the minibus there was a tout who wanted me to get a room at his hotel...he had a brochure, and the photos looked decent enough...the price he quoted was also the amount i was okay with spending, and he said he'd take me there for free...all of it sounded okay to me, so i got on the back of his motorbike, and off we went...it didn't take long to get to the hotel, and the room was fine, so i checked in...

my next task was to book a couple tours...since i'm a guidebook freak i had spent time reading it on the plane, and had come up with a tentative itinerary...there are TONS of travel agencies and most of them offer the same tours, so i could've shopped around a bit more, but the numbers i was given at the first place were okay, so i went for it...for boxing day i booked a tour to the perfume pagoda, which is a day trip from hanoi...starting the day after that, i booked a tour to halong bay...having those booked, i started walking around town...i walked through a temple that seemed mostly deserted...i don't know which temple it was, whether it was mentioned anywhere or not...there seemed to be some construction going on, but there was still an room with stuff in it...(i don't know what that room is called?)

somewhere in the guidebook i'd also read that vietnam is known for water puppets...it sounded interesting, and there is a water puppet theatre in hanoi, so i wandered in that direction, intending to book something for later in the evening, or even the next evening...i got there at 1645, and it turned out there was a show at 1700...convenient...i had a "first class" ticket, though the seat wasnt really all that good...plus, there was a tall guy who's bald head seemed to end up in nearly all the photos i took...ugh...anywho, the show was 45mins, and i enjoyed it...i think everyone in the audience did...we were all trying to take photos, but almost none of mine turned out well...(which didn't surprise me, as it was indoors, and fairly dark)...oh well...
after the show i wandered around the old quarter for a while...it's an area with some french architecture, a LOT of street food, a lot of budget hotels, and shops of  all sorts...these gates are on the lake, leading to a small temple...

good times...i ended up having pho for dinner, a typical vietnamese soup...i love sitting down at a street stall and having food appear in front of me...YUM...after wandering a bit more i found a bakery, complete with chocolate mousse...again, YUM...a few goodies came with me back to my hotel...
early the next morning (well, not that early, it was 0745) i was picked up for my tour to the perfume pagoda...a bit over an hour later, the minibus was finally on it's way out of hanoi...i was the first to be picked up, which meant i got a good seat, but it also meant i had to be patient while the minibus went around and around, picking up the other tourtakers...an hour later, we stopped for a potty break, or so it was called...the stop just happened to be at a place full of souvenirs and snacks, and there were three other minivans stopping there as well...as everyone piled out of the minivan (we were scrunched in pretty tight) ladies selling fruit came up and tried to get people to buy...rather aggressively, i might add...another hour later, we got to a river...a 10 minute break to do i don't know what, then we got into rowboats...

not rowboats like we have in the states, but vietnamese rowboats...shallow, thin, and long...six of us in each boat, as well as a lady rower...the ladies rowed us an hour up the river, rowing forwards, not backwards as we would've expected...it was interesting to watch...the boat ride along the river was pretty, and we saw people doing a lot of manual labor along the way...

after the boats pulled up at a dock, we got off, and walked about 100m to a lunch place...clearly, this place is primarily there to serve tourists coming to the pagoda...tofu, fish, cabbage, rice, chicken...it was a lot of food...from there we started walking up to the pagoda...there were a lot of steps...not surprisingly, it wasn't just one pagoda...on the way up i stopped at a couple pagodas/shrines on the way to the top...

fun times with photos, at least i tried to get a few  good ones...at the top i saw our guide, who had ridden the cable car up...he made it seem as though i was running really late, though it didn't seem late to me...at the top, the biggest pagoda is inside a big cave...there were several shrines inside, and as far as i could see, that was the only place photos weren't supposed to be taken...

then i  started going back down, which only took half the time...partly because i was concerned about time, partly because i was moving a lot faster, and partly because i wasn't stopping for any photos...the steps were regularly spaced, which was nice both on the way up, and on the way down...as i got back down to the bottom, i found the rest of the group, minus a few people who were still coming down...eventually everyone was together, so we returned to the boats...

according to our guide, by this point we were already over an hour later than normal...oops...we figured it was his fault as much as anyone else's...the stops the bus made weren't stops any of us would've chosen, and they added up to more than an hour...plus, the pickup in the morning took foreva and was terribly inefficient...anywho, we got in the boats, and headed back down the river...

the water didn't seem to be moving much, so i don't know whether we got back any faster...after we got off the boats the guide told us we should tip the ladies who rowed us, saying that they had worked hard...knowing that the vietnamese don't normally tip, and tipping is generally only prevalent among foreign tourists, this annoyed me...i hate required tips...i gave her some money, but she demanded more!!! (10x the amount!!)...um, no thank you...i was amazed that she was so up front about how much she wanted from each of us...she tried to hand back the money i gave her, insisting that i give her more...so i took the money, and started to put it back in my wallet, and close my wallet...she didn't like that either, and then accepted what i had originally given her...how rude...

the bus ride back into the city was definitely faster, yay!! i got off the bus before it got to my hotel, but that was just because i was motion sick, and needed "fresh" air...
i stopped at the same bakery as the night before, picking up some treats...yum...another night back in my hotel room, watching movies, etc...i love day trips:)

pushkin

 

i found out about a month ago that a friend of mine from my years in germany lives in korea...not only does he live in korea, he's been here for over a year!! he's finished one contract, traveled for a couple months, is currently working part time, and starts a new full time contract in january...pushkin isn't very good at email/facebook so it didn't surprise me at all that he was here for so long and i had no idea...he lives in daegu, which is one of the bigger cities in korea...daegu is a bigger city, but it's NOT a place people think to go when they want to travel around korea...anywho...i figured out a weekend i could visit, and asked him if it was okay...it was...yippee!!

saturday morning i got up and (running late of course) took the ktx to daegu...the train goes 300km/hr, so it takes less than 2 hours to get there...not long before i arrived, pushkin sent me a text telling me in korean what to tell the taxi driver when i walked out of the train station...i could've shown it to the driver, but i had more fun saying it...and i got it right:)

pushkin met me at the entry gate to a university, he lives really close...he also brought along his girlfriend...as it was noon, we found a nearby restaurant, indian food...YUM...pushkin is currently doing a chinese medicine/cleansing process so he can't have caffeine or alcohol...the only options on the drink menu at the restaurant were sprite or orange juice...

we ended up staying there for 5 hours!!! soooo much catching up to do...and of course we gossiped about all the people we both know from our years in garmisch...so many people we knew there are completely different people now...good times...after realizing how long we'd been there, we left and stopped in a bakery, as pushkin was craving something sweet...(which he said doesn't happen often)...from there is was back to his flat, which i loved...a one bedroom, one living room, a small kitchen and a bathroom...i would be thrilled to have a flat like his...the idea of having more than one room is almost heaven...and his rent is CHEAP...somehow, i don't think i'd have that option in seoul...

after eating far too much, pushkin took off to the gym, leaving me behind with his girlfriend...she's a sweetheart, and speaks great english, so it wasn't awkward...we chatted about all sorts of things, and ended up watching part of a movie...pushkin came back and we went to dinner...a pizza/pasta place...she was craving cheese, so was i, so pizza was perfect...between the three of us we finished off two pizzas fairly quickly...YUM...after dinner, i wanted ice cream...(which was crazy, since it was cold)...a nearby 7-11 provided what i wanted, since there were no baskin robbins, or coldstones, or other ice cream specialty stores...given that it was cold, i waited till we got back to pushkin's flat to eat the ice cream....

i slept on a yeo on his living room floor, and slept like a log...i love yeos, and would be thrilled to have on in my flat now...plus, he has his ondol (온돌) on, so the floor was toasty...i woke up before the alarm went off the next morning, so i turned it off, and took my time about getting up...a shower later, i got a cab, and went back to the train station for to catch the ktx back to seoul...i needed to get back earlier than i had originally planned b/c my rugby team was starting filming for our music video...(i'm sure i'll post on that when it's all finished)...

it was great to see pushkin again, and i hope to convince him to come up to seoul:)

end of season banquet

 when i first started playing rugby in korea, the team was only in it's 3rd year...i never got to experience a formal with the team, whether it be at the beginning of the season or the end...i left korea the first time at the beginning of march 2008, and the first formal i heard about took place three weeks later...i was gutted i didn't get to attend...so when emails and itineraries came out for the formal this year, i was stoked...the emails said that space was going to be limited, so i rsvp'd as quickly as i could...

as it was, the date was changed several times, and i was relieved when it landed on a day/time i could

go...originally, i had signed up for a half mrathon that same day, but decided not to run...too cold, and i was sick...yuck...i got ready at home, then made my way over to elena's flat, and after she was ready, we made our way over to nat's flat...the picture on the left is of all the girls who got ready there...

the formal took place at one of the branches of zelen, a bulgarian restaurant...yum...none of us girls knew exactly where this branch was, so we ended up wandering around a small area for a few minutes...it was cold, and the walk wasn't so fun...anywho, we finally found it, and walked in to find nearly everyone else already there...(a group of girls running late? shocking, i know)...there was a banquet of sorts laid out, and the food was yummy...people were socializing, taking pictures, eating, and getting started drinking...our fee included all you can eat and drink...i kept telling people they had to make sure to drink my fair share as well...with rugby people, that's not a problem:)

after a while, awards were presented by both the men's and women's teams...best back, best forward, etc...the guys had a bunch more than we did, they were more organized about such things...robin (our outgoing president) had a lot of thank yous...but since there were more people there attached to the guys, not so many people paid attention to her...the girls team has changed a lot more over the years than the guys team, and the guys team has been in existence far longer anywho, so this isn't entirely surprising...

in talking with ted, the survivor president, we decided to think about doing some co-ed activities during the season next year...in showing up at this banquet, i realized i didn't know very many of the guys...or their spouses/significant others for that matter...and they didn't know us...we support each other on the pitch, but for whateva reason, we haven't socialized and gotten to know each other as well...i don't know if any co-ed activities will actually happen, but the idea is there...

after the awards were over we all grabbed dessert, and went back to drinking and socializing...a simple night, but fun...around 2330, most people went over to scrooge for more drinking and socializing...since i could barely hear (ear infections) i went home and crashed...

movember

i don't know where it started, or when it started, or even when i heard about it, but movember is something the rugby guys (the survivors, anywho) "celebrate"...these are all the guys who participated this year...sorry about the bad photo...
to explain, november is recognized as prostate cancer month...i don't know where, but that's beside the point...to promote awareness, men all over have turned it into movember...that is, they grow mustaches during the month of november...men do this with their colleagues, family, friends, etc...for men who don't normally have facial hair, this can be a good thing, or a very bad thing...some guys can grow facial hair, and some, well, let's just say it doesn't look good...of course, it means that significant others have to deal with it for a month, but everyone is a good sport, since it's a good cause...
each year, the survivors have a contest of sorts...they get pledges from their friends/family to raise money for a couple charities they support, and grow mustaches all month...at the end of the month, they raise even more money by having a shave-off auction...all the boys, their significant others, and other assorted friends and rugby hangers on show up...there are prizes for who has grown the best of various types of mustaches...the best dictator 'stache, the best bum fluff (someone who just can't grow thick facial hair) 'stache, and the best chopperee (the best side chops)...pretty funny to see who gets called up as a nominee for each prize...hee hee...anywho, after the awards, the auction starts...most of the starting bids were 10,000, going up from there...people bid for the "honour" of shaving off said person's mustache...this time, the bids were amusing...people started bidding money to keep the mustache, or to change it to another colour, or to shave it and see the person dance/sing...
by the time the monies from the auction were added to the pledges from the month, the boys raised over 4 million won...pretty good, eh?

chuncheon (춘천)

even though i had been out of town with rugby just the weekend before, heather, kim and i decided to go to chuncheon (춘천) this weekend...it's not far from seoul, only 1.5 hours by bus...kim and i took a bus together, the bus arrived faster than expected...woo hoo...
amazingly, there weren't the normal love motels around the bus station...everywhere else i've been in korea you can always see lots of love motels around bus and train stations...anywho...heather had been to chuncheon before, so she knew where we should go...since she was coming from jochiwon her bus was a little later in arriving, but oh well...there happened to be a huge emart attached to the bus station so we wandered around there for a little while, and found food there...i should say that it has gotten COLD in korea, so wandering around in the dark, looking for food isn't the greatest...heather arrived, found us at emart, and we figured out a plan...we took a taxi to an area in town where she knew we could find a love motel, we checked in and relaxed for the evening...it was a room with a double bed, so i got a yeo (basically a thick duvet that goes on the floor, and a blanket to sleep under) and a pillow...kim had some interesting stories to tell from work...i had another bad asthma attack, but it calmed down soon enough...i'm getting a whole lot more use out of my inhaler these days, i haven't used it this much since i was a competitive swimmer! (it's not a good thing i don't think)...

the next morning we woke up slowly...and all spent some time waking up, going back to sleep, waking up, going back to sleep, etc...around 1100 we started taking showers and such, and by 1215 we were out the door...i had thought it was sunny, but i was wrong...lol...sometime during the night it had snowed!!! it was pretty, unexpected, and cold...i really need to find my scarves...i hope i brought a couple with me to seoul, but if not, i need to buy one soonest...i know i have mittens in my flat, i need to get those out...unfortunately, i didn't have my mittens with me in chuncheon...anywho, we started walking, and soon found a dunkin donuts...(none of us are that picky when it comes to a quick breakfast)...we also talked to local foreigners who told us how to get to a particular island heather wanted to see...

before going to that island, we decided to walk down to the river...which took longer than i thought it would...not that it really mattered...anywho, once we got to the river we decided not to go to nami-do, simply because it would take an hour to get there, and it was already 1300 or so...we decided to walk along the river for a little while, and see if we could find a ferry to another little island...because of the weather, there weren't many people out...it really felt like we had the river to ourselves...that's a feeling you almost never have in korea...there are just too many people...

while walking along the river we found the ferry port to another island, in the middle of the river...according to lonely planet, we could find dolmens and such on that island...so we opted for the ferry, and decided to forego nami-do for another trip...this ferry held 6 cars, and the round trip only cost us each 3000won...yay!! it wasn't a long ride, but we still enjoyed it...

as we got off the ferry on the island, we saw an archeology dig happening...i'm guessing the diggers weren't too thrilled with the weather...heather's dad is an archeologist, so she was particularly interested...we could see a couple pots and such that had been exposed already...the area marked off for the dig was actually pretty big, even though they weren't actually digging in all of it at that point...

we kept walking for a while, just because it was nice...since the leaves have fallen, there isn't a lot of colour to be found...but we did find this small area of red berries, which were pretty...i wonder why they were only in this one spot...toward the end of our walk, we went into a garden/play area of sorts...i suppose it was a historical area, as they had this dolmen and a couple others displayed...if we understood the sign correctly (and one never knows with kanglish) the dolmen had all been on the island, but had been moved so that they were all together for this park...does anyone know what the purpose of these are?

after taking the ferry back, we cut up to the main street (as opposed to the river walk where we had been walking earlier) and saw the end of this war memorial...judging by the flags, it's probably related to what americans know as the korean war, fought from 1950-1953...

we were lucky enough to catch a taxi almost immediately back into town...(we could've walked back to where we started, but didn't feel like it)...the taxi dropped us off at dalkgalbi street...apparently dalkgalbi was invented in chuncheon, there is an entire street with restaurants specially devoted to dalkgalbi...i had planned to sit on the bench in the photo, but there was mud and water on it...lol...

dinner was great...yummy food which really hit the spot since we'd been walking for a while...spicy, and the restaurant was warm...(except for when some dumbhead propped open the door and everyone froze)...and after dinner, we were mostly interested in staying warm...there is always a point in a chilly day when warmth becomes more important than anything else...especially when the sun is down...we found an underground shopping area which was quite warm...it was extensive, and had we been so inclined, could've shopped for hours...as it was, we wandered through relatively quickly, mostly scanning what was available...(a whole store devoted just to children's shoes!)...heather and kim had fun in daiso, which is kindof like the dollar store...lots of random stuff, most of it useful in some way or another...from underground shopping, we went to coldstone...given what i just said about staying warm, realize this makes no sense, but heather and i were in the mood, and kim certainly didn't say no...hee hee hee...the guy in the store tried to tell me i couldn't substitute ice cream flavours, but he backed down when i told him i've been able to do it at every store i've tried in seoul...across the street from coldstone was a north face store, and kim wanted to shop there...she just came from a couple years in new mexico, which isn't known for cold winters, so she wanted to peruse and think about buying a real winter jacket...she didn't buy, but did come away with ideas...

from there we went back to the bus station, got on buses, and came home...traffic going into seoul on saturday evening seemed nonexistent, so we got home fast...woo hoo!!!

we're definitely hoping to go back to chuncheon in the spring:)

hong kong rugby style

the hong kong tour is one that all the rugby girls who have gone rave about...everyone loves it...and now, after having the experience myself, i totally agree...what a fantastic weekend...
friday evening immediately after school i hopped on a bus to the airport, which takes an hour and a half...at the checkin counter i met up with several other girls, so we all ended up sitting together on the plane...security and emigration doesn't take very long at the airport in incheon, it's a really efficient airport...no body scanners or patdowns, i reckon those will get here eventually...the checkin line was long, but it didn't take long to go through and get our boarding passes...the plane took off on time, i think, woo hoo...
we landed in hong kong around 2245 local time, and ended up waiting in the airport for a while for colin, our manager...we knew he was supposed to arrive around the same time, and we were supposed to meet up with him so he could get us all to the hostel, but for whateva reason no one thought to make a specific meeting point...anywho, after we finally found him, it didn't take long to get to the hostel...there is a train from the airport that gets you into the city in 24 minutes...brilliant...from there it was a quick cab ride (cabs in hong kong are all red) to the hostel...we'd all thought we'd be in rooms of 2,3 or 4 people, but 10 of us ended up in an apartment, which was actually awesome...(except that there was only one bathroom)...AND, every one of us got a key, so no one had to worry about making sure someone was 'home' or finding someone with a key...yay!! (with a group like ours, that's actually a pretty big deal)...

nat, our unofficial team captain found us at checkin, showed us the apartment (it wasn't in the same building as the checkin desk) and got us going to go out that night...fortunately, very few people needed showers...we just used makeup to cleanup...nat had arrived the night before with three others, none of them had to work on friday...(jealousy is my middle name)...they'd spent friday shopping and relaxing after going out hard thursday night...our first stop of the night was a place called devil's advocate...it's in the wan chai area of hong kong, which is an area full of bars, and plenty of expats...i think a lot of hong kong rugby people spend a lot of time in the advocate, but it was pretty tame while we were there...after a couple drinks we made our way to a place called dusk till dawn...whoa...crazy busy...the bouncers outside were counting the people going in and out, they were right at the limit allowed...i didn't go in, i hung out outside with a few of the girls and just chatted...there were people coming out every now and again, but from what we could tell, it was going to be really really crowded/busy in there, so we never went in...the girls who did had a good time i think, but they all mentioned that there was a constant flow of people bumping into them...i went to those bars in uni, and while i was living in garmisch, but i don't like them much now...anywho, i went home "early" around 0300, with one of the other girls...there is a 24hr supermarket near our hostel, and she and i were hungry, so we took the opportunity to wander around...the staff were stocking the shelves so there were boxes everywhere, but oh well...anna and i were amazed at the variety available...there definitely is NOT that variety in korea...sure, there are big groceries in korea, but not with the variety of international brands...she and i must've spent over 30 minutes just wandering around...(probably with our mouths hanging open from shock)...when i laid my head down that night it was spinning, as if i'd been drinking!!! crazy...i haven't had alcohol in nearly 7 years, and there is no smoking in hong kong bars, (sure wish it was that way in seoul!) so who knows how i ended up with that feeling...oh well...i didn't hear everyone else come home, but everyone made it safely...

morning came fast...too fast...we're all used to getting up for work, and hong kong is an hour behind, so all of us woke up naturally a whole lot earlier than we expected, or wanted...oh well...not that we got moving very fast, but the point is that we were awake...

since hearing the night before from nat that there was a new lululemon store in hong kong, that was my only goal for the day...i hadn't planned to shop at all, buuuut, i've been drooling over lululemon online for the past couple months, and i couldn't pass up this opportunity...YAY!!! nat was staying in another room from me, but colette was in my room (the big apartment) and she had visited the lululemon store the day before...(according to nat, they'd all spent a LOT of money there)...colette was still sleeping so i waited until 1100 to wake her up to ask where to find lululemon...she ended up coming with us, and spending more money:)...i had an asthma attack while trying on pants, it was soooooo embarassing...i've been really sick lately, and coughing a lot...for whateva reason some of these coughing fits have been so bad that i end up gagging, which has been causing asthma attacks...ugh...after calming down, drinking some water and using my inhaler, i still had a red face but wasn't coughing so badly...i bought two pairs of pants...(thank you to mom for the birthday money:)...after that, anna and i returned to the supermarket, bought sandwiches (they were huge) for lunch, and went back to the flat in the hostel...some of the girls had shopped a bit, the only sightseeing anyone did was to go up to victoria peak...when the weather is clear there is a great view of the hong kong skyline...when it's hazy/polluted, not so much...

eventually everyone gathered on the street, though of course some people were later than others...we got in a taxi line, (on a side note, taxis in hong kong are red) and made it all the way to the front, only to find out that we had been in the wrong taxi line, and that we needed to go somewhere else to find taxis that would take us over to the kowloon side...(hong kong isn't just one island, it's an island, and a little bit of the mainland)...of course, that made the group arrival at the rugby pitch later than anticipated...(not much of a surprise, as moving bigger groups around never happens on schedule)...quick changes for everyone, very little time to warm up...as this was the first 15s game for 75% of the people playing, we had a lot of learning to do...we'd done some scrum stuff in practice, but never against another team...part of the pregame stuff included building the scrum with both sides, so that everyone knew what they were doing...the ref made sure everyone was binding the way they were supposed to, and she told us how she would call it, so we would know the correct pace...(i know that probably doesn't make any sense if you don't know rugby, sorry)...

then we played...we got our asses kicked, but we did get better as the game went on...to be fair, as i mentioned earlier this was the first 15s game for most of us, and the hong kong girls are the best team in hong kong...(there are 7 women's teams in hong kong)...rugby is part of the culture in hong kong, everyone (even those who don't play) have at least a vague notion of the game, unlike in korea where most people don't have a clue...the longest running asian rugby tournament takes place in hong kong every year, a massive party called the hong kong 7s...
i ended up with another asthma attack during the game and had to come out...which pissed me off, cause i really wanted to play...i just couldn't stop wheezing...maria was hurt during the first half, but i think she was the only injury...anywho, after the game we took the normal picture with both teams...that seems to be just as much a part of rugby as the game itself...tradition, i guess...both teams mix themselves and smile for the camera...this time no one actually had a camera for a minute, whoops...after the game a couple of the hong kong girls (one of whom used to be a seoul sister!) showed us to the subway, so we skipped the taxis on the way home...somehow half the team went down the wrong escalator, including our coach...he realized it though and hopped the rail...lol...

we got back to our hostels, showered, and put on the costumes nicole and others had bought earlier...roman-ish i guess...i'm not big on fancy dress, so it didn't matter to me whether we had them or not...amazingly, people seemed to mostly be ready on time...tanya (the former seoul sister) met us at 2100, and walked us to a place called ruggers...it was just recently opened up, and is owned by four girls who all play for different teams in hong kong...how awesome is that? there was a bar (obviously, this is rugby after all) and they had a food menu as well...the place isn't big, but that didn't matter...anywho, it was a relaxing time for people to catch up, hang out, etc...after an hour or longer, someone called a court session...they gave out the normal awards (mvp for both teams and other assorted awards) as well as fines for various ladies...details of that stuff stays in the court session, of course...i drank my water and hung out, i was sad to have to turn down the glass of sangria everyone else got...:(...i went home not too long after that, around 0100...that was when everyone was leaving ruggers, and the hong kong girls were going to take us to other bars in the wan chai area...since i was sick, i opted for going to sleep...a couple girls stayed out till 0600:)

the next morning rachel woke all of us up at 0730...we thought we had to be out the door at 0830, so it was probably a good idea to wake us all up so we could move as slowly as we needed but still make it out the door on time...we ended up having an extra hour, so amy and i went for a walk to times square...i hadn't been in that area before, and since it was so close to where we were staying, i figured i should get a few photos while i had the chance...amy hadn't drunk much or stayed out late the night before either, so both of us were able to get going quickly...there was a display of some sort so we had fun posing...hee hee...i can't help it, i like photos of myself:)...while we were out walking amy showed me a photo she had taken from the window of her room...(she was staying in another room of the hostel)...it was a view down the street, which normally wouldn't be anything fantastic, but they were on the 10th floor, so she could see boats and water...of course, i had to take the same photo for myself:)

the team had chartered a bus to take us to a junk boat we had hired for the day...the junk boat is the part of the tour that everyone talks about afterward...and now i know why...it was AMAZING...just after we started cruising, they started bringing out drinks and appetizers...i had cranberry juice, but other people had sea breezes or beer...appetizers included chicken satay, lamb something or another, and chips and salsa...everything looked and tasted good...woo hoo...after an hour of cruising (i don't really know how long it was, i'm just guessing) we dropped the anchor in between two beaches...after some debate as to which beach we wanted to swim to, we chose, and jumped off the boat...i was pretty proud of myself for jumping off the top of the boat, i'm not big on jumping off heights of any kind...i can stand up high no problem, but i don't really enjoy jumping...(except that i do want to go skydiving someday, which totally doesn't fit into that at all, i know)...it wasn't warm water...it wasn't freezing exactly, but it was chilly...on the beach we threw a rugby ball around a little, but soon we drifted off a bit...at some point we decided it would be fun to take a picture of all of us laying down at the water line...fun, but cold when the waves came up...lol...not long after that, i climbed on some of the nifty rocks just because it looked like fun...nicole and jana came up afterward, the three of us had a great conversation...

after a little while, the boat people told us we should come back to the boat for lunch...YUM...steak, chicken, salmon, salad, potatoes, veggies, bread, and moussaka...all of it really good...if i recall correctly, everyone had a full plate...after lunch several of us laid out on the front of the boat...the sun felt nice, though i think all of us wouldn't have minded a few more degrees of heat...but we worshipped the sun for a while anywho...awesome...after a little while, several of the girls told me i was getting red, and i could feel it in a couple places...so i put on a shirt and wandered around the boat...then they brought out brownies...yum...i could've eaten more than the two small ones i did...hee hee...at some point, nearly everyone came down to the ground floor deck, just chatting, drinking, relaxing...they brought out pizza, yahoo!! after a couple slices of that i went down under that deck and took a cold shower...i wasn't keen on the cold, but i wanted to get all the salt off me...i found sand everywhere...i guess it had all stayed there from when we laid in the sand for the photo...whoops...it felt good to get rid of the salt...

back at the dock, the bus took us back to our hostel...most of us picked up our luggage, and took taxis to hong kong station...there is an airport checkin there, it was really nice to drop off luggage and not have to think about it again until landing in seoul...in that same station, i found a bookstore, and bought the postcards i always try to buy when traveling...then i went with some of the girls to temple street night market...janine and jess miller were definitely ready to shop, i just went along for the ride...we bought matching bracelets, i bought a frog thing for my sister (it'll probably be a while before i get around to posting it) and then the girls bought a whole bunch more...hee hee...it was a typical market, with all sorts of random stuff available...

we took the subway back to hong kong station, took the train to the airport, flew back to seoul, and took buses home...i walked into my flat at 0700, tried to sleep for 2 hours, then got ready for work...monday was a veeeeerrrrrrry long day...