Nov 6, 2008

Island Pictures

Here are two more albums from the few weeks Charlie and I spent island hopping. I've got about 5 days left in Asia, I can't believe how fast this vacation has passed!

Thailand - Ao Nang, Rai Ley

Thailand - Rai Ley, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta

Thailand - Phuket, Koh Tao

Oct 18, 2008

Enough Pictures To Keep You Busy

I'm nearing the end of my journey, sad, isn't it? I'm back in Chiang Mai staying with my friend for the next 3 weeks. I'm flying to Atlanta on November 10th to see Coldplay with my friend from teaching in Korea and then home to North Carolina with her. I'll be back on Canadian soil on November 30th (I know, I know. You're counting down the days.) In the meantime, I've finally gotten to a good computer and posted all the pictures from the last few months. Enjoy.



Indonesia - Java: Mount Merapi, Jakarta, Bandung, Puncak Pass


Malaysia - Borneo: Kota Kinabalu, Sandukan, Sepilok, Sungai Kinabatangan

Elephant Video: Pygmy elephants playing on the banks of the Kinabatangan River

Malaysia - Borneo: Semporna, Pulau Mabul, Pulau Sipidan, Kota Kinabalu

Singapore

Malaysia - Peninsula: Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands

Malaysia - Peninsula: Taman Negara, Parhentian Kecil

There will more in a couple days!

Aug 30, 2008

New Pictures!

Here are the pictures from my visits with Aileen and Megan. I spent the last month in Indonesia and now I'm in Malaysia on Borneo Island. Next, I'll travel to Singapore then penisular Malaysia before heading back to Thailand to meet a friend for some more island hopping. Eventually, I may go home :)
Hope you're all doing well, I sure am!

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta)

Thailand (Bangkok, Koh Samui, Kanchanburi, Ayutthaya)

Indonesia (Bali, Lombok)


Jul 16, 2008

Pictures!

I know, I know. I've been really bad about keeping this up, but when you see the pictures you'll understand I've been busy. Here are some albums to keep you occupied.

Vietnam - Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135263&l=05d1f&id=798630540

Vietnam - Scuba Diving
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135257&l=e645f&id=798630540

Laos - Huay Xai, Luang Prabang, Phonsavanh
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127788&l=6f98d&id=798630540

Enjoy!

Jun 19, 2008

The Second Week: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and the Golden Triangle

The second week was a bit of an adventure. I spend the first part of the week relaxing in Chiang Mai, spending many afternoons relaxing by the pool. Of course, you can't relax all the time so I took a Thai cooking course. The teacher was Charlie's friend, Boom, who is an excellent chef. The morning started off with a trip to the local market where she told us all about the different veggies and such and we bought ingredients for our recipes. Then we drove to the cooking school, located in the country. We got our aprons and chef's hats on and started cooking! The first dish was Pad Thai: noodles with chicken, egg and other veggies, one of my favorites.
Next, we made Tom Yum: a spicy soup with prawns.
Then we had a choice of red or green curry. I chose red, my favorite, with chicken.
Then we made mangoes and sticky rice with palm sugar.
Next was chicken stir-fry with cashew nuts.
Finally, we made Thai green papaya salad, very spicy. When I eventually get home I'll host a fabulous Thai dinner party.


At the end of the week Charlie, Naz and I took the bus north to Chiang Rai. We did a day trip to the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) meet. Getting there was really easy. We followed the info office's advice and took a bus to Chiang Sean, then a minibus to the Golden Triangle. We got there find, walked around, saw a giant buddha, ate lunch. We then walked to the Hall of Opium, recommended by some guy to be much better than the House of Opium. The entrance is a long tunnel with colored lights and strange people-like creatures coming out of the walls. Apparently, its supposed to be like an opium experience. The rest of the Hall is 3 floors of video presentations, dioramas, and artifacts going from the history of opium to the addiction and victims. Very informative, but I was sick of reading by the end of it.

Now, is where the adventure got interesting. We thought we could just go back the way we came. We walked back to the busy part of the Golden Triangle and looked for a minibus to take us back to the bus. Unfortunately, there were no minibuses going back. Every way we could get back wanted a lot of money which we didn't want to part with so we started asking people if they were going to Chiang Sean. We found a really nice young couple going and they offered to take us all the way back to Chiang Rai. On the way they took us to some interesting temples and showed us around the University where she worked. When we got back they refused to take any money or let us buy them dinner. Very nice people.

The next day, Charlie and Naz headed back to Chiang Mai. I was going to wait until the next day to leave, but I met a German girl going the same way I was so I left with her. We took the bus to Chiang Khong and crossed the Mekong into Laos.
Facebook is giving me problems today, sorry I'll try to post more pictures in a few days.

Jun 8, 2008

The First Week: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai - Thailand

Its been almost a week since I left Korea to start my adventure. I arrived in Bangkok at 3am in pouring rain. The next day I woke to sunshine and tropical temperatures. I only stayed there 1 night, I had planned to take the train to Chiang Mai, but found a cheap air ticket so flew instead. My friend, Charlie, who I met in Cambodia has been staying here for a few months so I met up with her and met her friends. I've visited Doi Suthep, a temple with 300 stairs and Bhuping Palace, the winter home of the King and Queen. There were lots of amazing flowers there. Then we went off-roading and I got to drive a 4x4 standard on the wrong side of the road in the jungle. Very fun! We visited a tiger farm and played with 4, 2 month old baby tigers. They didn't play much, they were very sleepy, nap time I guess. On Thursday I went with some friends of Charlie's to Pai, a small village in the mountains near the Burmese border. It was really nice, reminded me off Banff and Jasper, but with jungle. The road to get there was crazy! 1864 curves in the road, all switch-backs. Apparently, its in the Guinness record book. We stayed at a fantastic resort with a great view and a swimming pool for only $15/night (between 2 of us). The next day was a bit of a write-off because of car problems, but eventually got it fixed and went back to Chiang Mai. Now its time to do some laundry.

Its difficult for me to post pics because I'm using shared computers so all my pics are on facebook. Click the link to see.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121998&l=777e2&id=798630540

Jun 2, 2008

The Plan

Later today I'll be leaving on my dream vacation. A 3-4 month tour of SE Asia. I'll be updating the blog with photos and stories of all my adventures. My plan is to start out in Bangkok then take the train to ChangMai where I'll be meeting a girl I met in Cambodia last summer. I'll spend some time exploring northern Thailand then head to Laos on a boat. I'll spend about 2 weeks in Laos before heading to Hanoi, Vietnam. My friend will meet me there and we'll take our time and travel down the coast, where I hope to learn to scuba dive. In Ho Chi Minh City my friend, Aileen, from Canada, will meet me. She has a few weeks vacation so she's decided to come travel with me for it. We'll see the sight around HCMC and then head to the Thai peninsula and relax on the beaches of Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan. We'll spend her last few days together in Bangkok then I'll fly to Bali, Indonesia to meet Megan, my sister. We'll spend a few weeks island hopping and then she'll leave any my last few weeks will be spend on the islands of Java and Sumatra. Then I'll head to Singapore, the last stop on my trip. Then its back to Canada, but I'm not sure I'll be able to leave my backpacker lifestyle behind. I'm really excited!! Bye!

I'll still be keeping in touch by e-mail, facebook and skype.

Jun 1, 2008

Goodbye Korea, I'll Miss You

Tomorrow is the day. After 3+ years in the land of the morning calm, I'm finally leaving, for real. To mark this momentous occasion it seemed one day of partying would not do... so we made it a goodbye weekend!
Friday:
My last day of work. I'm unemployed and have no job prospects, but I've never been more excited! It was really hard to say goodbye to my kids, especially the kindergartners. Some of them started to cry, making me bawl like a baby, too.I got some flowers, notes from the kids and many, many hugs. My boss gave me a plaque in appreciation of my work and a set of bone china tea cups and saucers. And the final paycheck was pretty sweet :)
After work we went to eat Deok Sam. It's pork barbeque with thin slices of rice cake that you grill and then wrap around the meat and kimchi. So delicious. I'm drooling just typing this. The hardest thing to leave will be my friends. We work together, we play together.

After dinner we went to a second place to have some drinks and then the girls went singing. I just had break out my vocal stylings once more. We were in fine form. I'd say the highlight of the evening would be Lisa trying to sing Mariah Carey's 'Touch My Body.' I think Mariah would be shocked :)

Saturday:
Before I left Korea there was one dish I still really wanted to try. I'd eaten the bugs, the squirming octopus...but I hadn't tried the scariest dish of all, Boshintang. Boshintang is dog soup. Coming to Korea that was one of the first things people said to me, "You know they eat dogs, right?" Actually, most of the Koreans I know are younger and have never eaten it, it seems to be more enjoyed by the older generation. Anyway, I did it. I ate the dog. They're dogs specially farmed to be food, its not like I ate a poodle. It was edible, but not something I'd ever eat again. Ever. The meat was stringy and a little beefy, but not much. The soup was like a beef broth. There are no pics though, because I didn't want to offend the people in the restaurant who were eating it and enjoying it. Korean's are touchy about the dog-eater stereotype.
After quickly downing some ice cream to get the taste of dog out of my mouth all us girls got dolled up for a night on the down.
First stop, Casa Maya for some delicious Mexican food. Then we headed to the Rocky Mountain Tavern for some drinks, Canadian style. After that it was dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
These guys had a lot of fun, too. We found them passed out on the street and couldn't resist the photo op.


Sunday:
The end of the party season. I met my bookclub for my last meeting. They had even let me choose the book :) Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. We decided to meet at the Doctor Fish Cafe where we had delicious drinks then got our feet cleaned up by fish. They're a special type of little fish that feed on the dead skin off our feet. It was the strangest feeling ever!! Kind of like a ticklish, mild electrical shock. But my feet did feel really fresh after!
For more photos go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120396&l=8fa50&id=798630540

May 18, 2008

Biking Along the Han River

The countdown is on. I only have 2 more weeks in Korea, for real this time! I'm trying to see everyone for the last time and do everything for the last time, and most importantly, eat everything for the last time.

Saturday was a beautiful day so I met my old boss Junny (from my first school in Korea) and we went biking along the Han River. She has a nice bike, I rented the Green Monster. While it had a pretty awesome basket on the front, it really didn't do hills well. It was really nice to ride along the water, and made me realize how much I'm going to miss this city.

May 4, 2008

Lotus Lantern Festival

Once again, I attended the annual Lotus Lantern Festival to celebrate Buddah's Birthday. This time I went for the crafts. I met up with some friends from my bookclub and we painted fans and made lotus flowers on sticks. It started to rain, so I decided to skip the parade this year.




World DJ Festival (...and yes that's a real tattoo)


When I woke up yesterday my plans for the day included meeting Kim for coffee, reading more travel books and packing up more of my apartment. Things turned out to be much, much more interesting.
Kim had an extra ticket for the 2nd Seoul World DJ Festival. While normally that type of music isn't really my think, she convinced me to tag along. I thought I'd go for a few hours then head home early. Um...didn't happen.
Shortly after arriving we saw this tent that said 'Tattoos'. Always curious, we had to go check it out. Turns out there was a group there offering free tattoos to anyone who wanted. Korean's have a really stereotypical idea of tattoos and people who get them. They think only gangsters and criminals get tattoos. In the past if you had a tattoo it would exempt you from the mandatory military service, but too many men were getting tattoos just to avoid the army, now you have to have 2/3 of your body covered before you're exempt. There is also a law saying only medical doctors can actually tattoo, making it illegal for most tattooists. The group at the festival is a legal shop, the guy actually went to medical school.

Anyway, I was going to get another one when I'm in Bangkok this summer so I though, "Hell! Why not do it for free!!?!?" Kim and I waited 3 hours in line, then another hour for my tat, and almost an hour for hers.
The music was good, too. :)
For more pictures go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112351&l=57e8e&id=798630540

Children's Day

May 5th has come around again. Mostly, I appreciate the long weekend this gives me, but its always fun to have a children's day party at school. It was a fun day, but I was exhausted after... and still had to teach 4 hours of Elementary classes.
We kicked off the day making candy necklaces.

Then we ran a relay. The girl's won.

Then everyone got their faces painted.
Then threw water balloons.

And to top it all off, had a big buffet for lunch.

Apr 28, 2008

Olympic Torch Relay


Sunday the Olympic torch passed through Seoul on its way to Beijing for the Olympics in August. While there were some protesters it was mostly Chinese students. Lisa and I went to the Olympic Stadium to see the torch handed off. When it arrived there were bicycle cops, running cops, police buses and hundreds of Chinese students surrounding it. It was kinda cool, but only lasted a few minutes and it was off down the street. Reading stories about it later sounds like we really missed the excitement. There was a man who doused himself in gasoline and was going to light himself on fire, but the police grabbed him so he couldn't. Another man tried to jump on the torch bearer to put it out, but he was stopped, too. What I saw was peaceful, just a bunch of people really excited about China.


Apr 22, 2008

Apr 16, 2008

The Disappearing Appendix

Many of you have heard, but for some this may come as a surprise. Last Friday I woke up at 2am with serious stomach pain. I thought I had the flu and spent the night vomiting and trying to find a way to ease the pain. By morning it was pretty clear that it wasn't going away, I called in sick and asked my boss to send a bus driver to get me to the hospital. Three hospitals, an ambulance ride, and an ultra-sound later it was pretty clear I had appendicitis. Luckily, it didn't rupture, just got really swollen, so they did emergency surgery Friday afternoon. I spent 5 days in the hospital, but am home now. I've still got a couple staples and some stitches in my stomach, but I'm on the road to recovery. Thanks to everyone who visited me in the hospital and sent their get well wishes.
Now, here's a lovely picture of the missing appendix! Woot.

And this is how lovely I looked post-surgery! The pj's were pretty comfy :)

Apr 6, 2008

A Day Of Firsts

Yesterday I threw caution to the wind and did 2, yes 2, daring things.

First I bungee jumped! I leaped from a 45ft tower dangling from the end of an elastic band. It was awesome! Getting off the tower required a few deep breaths and the ability to not look down, but I made it. I even did a completely unplanned flip. Unfortunately, my photographer on the ground thought it was someone else going and so the actual jump wasn't caught on film, just the after bounces.



Second, I ate Bondaegee. I have no idea if that's how it should be spelled. The English translation is the completely unappetizing Silk Worm Larva. I now know it is as bad as I thought it would be. Kids here love the stuff so you can always find it for sale next to cotton candy at any event where children may be present or outside the gates to elementary schools. It has a disgusting smell, as anyone who's spent anytime in Korea can tell you, and now I know it tastes as bad as it smells. Fortunately, this was caught on film, but she flipped it halfway through. You get the gist.

Mar 17, 2008

My New K1 Class

Allison, Allie, Jerry, Delicia, Jenny and Carly
Its a new semester here in Korea and as much as I miss my old kids I'm quickly falling in love with this new group. Its really different for me to have so many girls. My last 2 kindie classes were full of boys. I haven't had to break up a single fight yet!
And damn are they cute...and so smart. Here's a funny conversation that took place the 2nd day of school.
Delicia: Teacher, your hair is beautiful. Are you Caucasian?
Me: Yes.
Delicia: Why?
Me: Because my mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa are caucasian. Are you Asian?
Delicia: Yes.
Me: Why?
Delicia: Because my mommy and daddy and everyone is Asian.

Mar 9, 2008

Spring Is In The Air


Fingers crossed, but I think Spring may soon be here. The weather's been getting warmer and days are getting longer. Yesterday it was 10 degrees. We tried to go to the Van Gogh exhibit at the Seoul National Art Museum, but apparently half of Seoul had the same idea. The line was about 5 blocks long. We had to walk for 10 minutes just to find the end of it! So, we scrapped that idea and decided to be touristy and visit the palace.




Mar 1, 2008

Graduation Tears

Hard to believe another year has come and gone. My 3 year anniversary in Korea was last week. Also, the end of February marks the end of the school year here. We spent the last month of Kindergarten rehearsing for the graduation ceremony. Each class learned a play with their foreign teacher, a dance with their Korean teacher and a drum performance with the drum teacher. Its a lot to remember for 5 and 6 year-olds! My kids did fantastic though, and I'm very proud of all of them. My part of the performance was a stage adaptation of "Who Stole The Cookies From The Cookie Jar?" The play finished with a song and dance of the Cookie Monster classic "C is for Cookie" It was riveting. We were up for a few Oscars, but sadly, didn't win. I'm hoping to get some pictures of the kids in their costumes from the parents.


Jan 27, 2008

Snowboarding is hard.

I learnt a new lesson the hard way this weekend. Kim, Lisa and I went on an Adventure Korea trip to Pheonix Park in PyeongChang. (You may know the name because PyeongChang was the runner up to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics) Turns out, snowboarding is hard! I mean, I didn't think I would be a pro right away, but I thought it would be a little easier. You'd be surprised how hard it is just to stand up on the stupid thing. The first run down the mountain took almost and hour and consisted of me standing up, going 2 feet and falling down....HARD! By the third run I had kinda figured it out, still falling, but much lesson often. By that night my entire body was aching. We went for dinner at a Korean restaurant where you sit on the floor, I took 4 cushions for my tender bottom and some guy called me a princess. Also aching especially were my knees, as if they were on fire actually. It was a restless sleep that night because everytime I moved the pain woke me up. Yes, I am whining, I know. Feel sorry for me damn it!

Sunday morning we enjoyed the other facilities Pheonix Park had to offer. We swam and sat outside in a hot tub, from where we critiqued the snowboarders coming down the mountain with our newfound knowledge of the sport. Then, we hit the sauna and bathed with the naked ladies. Yup, it took me 3 years in this country but I finally jumped in the tubs. My aching muscles were the driving force on that one.

I think I'm gonna need a few more times on the slopes before I join the pro circuit, but I had a great time and, for at least the next few weeks, will be healing!

Facebook Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87423&l=37218&id=798630540

Jan 12, 2008

Henny Penny

Here it is. The world premier video of 'Henny Penny.' Written and performed by K-1 Class and directed by your's truly. We had a lot of fun making it. Enjoy!

Jan 2, 2008

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a super New Year. I spent my Christmas with my family for the first time in 3 years. As an added bonus it was my mom's 50th Birthday on Christmas eve. And to make it even better, she didn't know I was coming. I'd been lying to her for about 5 months, saying I was spending the holidays in Thailand with a friend.
To surprise her, I flew to Calgary, Megan picked me up and we drove to Grande Cache. Harry was ready and had her sitting on the couch with a coat on her head, waiting for her 'gift' to be delivered. Watch the video to see her reaction.

For New Year's Eve my friends and boyfriend and I went for dinner at the Walkerhill Hotel, a very classy place not far from here. After dinner we went to Kim's for a rousing game of Scrabble and wine :) Good times.