Vacation!!!

WOW, am I actually blogging...sorry about the delay...what can I say..i'm a busy girl..eeek.

Before I tell you anything about my vacation, let me just start with a big huge thanks to Carol, the trip planner extraordinaire. She thought of everything..this woman can put together a travel itinerary like nobody's business. Carol I can't thank you enough.
After teaching two camps at the same time, I was drained and ready for a break...or an adventure outside of Korea. Somewhere warm.

Stage 1...Breaking Free!!

We escaped Suncheon, at 9:30 at night on the 16th of January, the last day of my camp, only to sit in a cold bus station in Gwangju. (Keep in mind we're leaving a cold climate..for a warm one..so we were wearing sandals..with socks...oh no..light rayon pants, and fleece sweaters..Yep..chili beans. We caught the 1am bus to Incheon airport and tried to sleep most of the 4 hour trip. Of course, I was way too excited to possibly sleep..Carol on the other hand was able to saw some logs during the journey. After attempting to sleep on a bench in the airport..we gave up and found some food for an early 5 am breakfast. Can you believe it..McDonald's breakfast..this had Carol quite excited..but me..i've never been a fan, I'm much more of a french fry kind of gal. By the way..you don't often find ANY type of breakfast food in Korea, McDonald's or otherwise, so it was a bit exciting. Our flight was to depart from Incheon at 9:50 am, and of course we'd had little sleep and were running on pure adrenalin..and of course McDonald's grease. The flight to Bangkok was pretty enjoyable. I was asleep before the last of the passengers had even boarded. When I woke up, I was sitting beside the cutest little Korean man. Which I started to chat with and found out that he was on route to Burma for some sort of work related retreat. He spoke some english and was quite happy to chat and practice. He offered to trade seats as he was sitting in between Carol and I and was confused when we told him, "no, its ok, we planned it like this." I think maybe he thought that we a) would fight if we sat too close, or b) we were planning to kidnap him.

After a 2 hour stopover in Bangkok, we were off to Singapore, a short flight into the night. It was beautiful flying in over the harbour and all the ships lit up out on the water. As many of you know, Singapore has one of the most fantastic shipping ports in the world. It was huge..kind of an eyesore during the day..but at night it was really pretty.

Once off the plane, it was really speedy to get out of the airport. We chose only to take a small backpack each..no checked luggage to wait for ...WHAT A GREAT WAY TO TRAVEL! From the airport we were able to catch the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) to China town. Of course, Carol had already researched every second of the trip, and ALL the logistics so, it was pretty easy to find where we were supposed to go with the help of a few directions from locals. We found our hostel easily..The Traveler's Rest Stop. What a great place. The owners were incredible, very personable and welcoming. The room was very bare bones..but it had everything that we needed. It was kind of like staying with a friend. There was internet, laundry, cooking facilities and even umbrellas to borrow (all of course in the common area, not the rooms).

Once we were settled into our room it was about 10pm and we were wiped. We decided to stay in and recharge for day 2. Travel days are always exhausting.

The next morning we dressed up in our best (tourist) travel garb and headed out for the day hoping to find a nice place to have a good cup of coffee and some breakfast. Wouldn't you know it, just around the corner and up the street we found the coolest little Austrian coffee shop. Great (but expensive) wake me up coffee. With a name like that, we were hoping that there would be a shot of whiskey or something along that line in it..nope. Super strong coffee with a glob of sweet and condenced milk in the bottom..mmmm. Pretty tasty. The waiter who served us asked if we were staying at some hoity toity hotel...ha ha. Apparently, our outfits made us look like middle aged wealthy ladies out for some sight seeing..you should have seen the look on his face when we told him where we were really staying..lol.


Later that day, we explored china town, did some shopping, popped into a small museum, toured around some markets in Little India, got henna on our hands..and then crashed back at the hotel before heading down to Clark Quay for dinner. Check more of my pics on my photo link.
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Clark Quay...what a great spot!!! Getting there was half the fun. As you might know, much of Asia's tourist population is transported around cities by Tuk Tuk, Rickshaw, or other bicycle/motorcycle powered carts. While walking toward our destination we were approached by a man to take a cycle rickshaw(pedicab) where the cart rides like a side car on the bicycle. Well, once we decided to say "yes" he led us over to another man..who mysteriously disappeared behind his cart. I'm not sure what Carol was thinking at that moment..but I thought this guy was hiding from us...thinking..oh no, two big girls...i'm too young to die!! Well, it turns out that he wasn't trying to get out of peddling our buts across town..he was setting up the BOOM box in under the seat...and I mean BOOM BOX. We vibrated our way through traffic to the tune of "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin. We couldn't stop laughing..it was the loudest music ever..and a one point I thought maybe I should have worn a sports bra..that's how loud the thumping bass beat was. Talk about getting some attention.

Once at Clark Quay we enjoyed a GIANT mango margarita at the Cafe Iguanna. Yummy, I still think Carol sucked back most of it before I had the chance..boozer..lol. Once we were pleasantly peached..we took a cruise on a "Bump Boat" along the Quay through the heart of the central business district. This spot is spectacular..hundreds of pubs and bars line the water as well as many beautiful buildings including the Asian Civilization Musem, Parliament, the Fullerton Hotel, the Esplanade theatre and of course the Merlion a half lion/half mermaid Singapores national (fictional) animal.

Because our time in Singapore was limited, we jam packed each day with a variety of activities. The next day we were up early and to the local corner cafe for a coffee, cheap strong and lots of condenced milk..lol. Then we headed out to Sentosa Island which is similar to Centre Island in Toronto..lots of man made attractions..my favourite being Underwater World. This place was a blast..first we got to feed Sting Rays..one of which nibbled on my finger..then we walked through a tunnel that was surrounded by tanks of sea life including massive sharks. It was great!! We were so pleasantly surprised. Later that afternoon we arrived back to the hostel right before a massive thunder storm..i mean massive..no wind, but lots of rain and thunder. It was the perfect time to lay around and catch up on some reading.




After the thunder storm we ventured out to the Night Safari. This was FANTASTIC!!! Its set up like a "Survivor" set. The safari includes a "Creatures of the Night" presentation and then a tram ride and hike in the dark. We looked at lions, water buffalo, giant fruit bats ...fantastic!!..Did i mention it was fantastic. A really unique experience. However there were some really rude people..i won't mention any nationalities..but...they were taunting the animals in a language i don't understand and had to be told to cut it out..lol. Then we went on a hike under the dark jungle canopy dripping wet from the earlier storm...so fun.
On our last full day we visited the Singapore Zoo, the most beautiful zoon in the world..but..a zoo is a zoo. Even the most beautiful jungle foilage doesn't make up for caging up animals. I always have mixed feelings about zoos. After the zoo we headed back down to Clark Quay for an afternoon of cocktails and people watching. We started at the famous Brew Werks, and then wandered under the giant umbrellas that cover a large portion of the bar/shop section to a bar called Marakesh. This is where the fun began. We sat in front of a great big fountain, ordered falafels and humus and of course lots of beer, and we partook in smoking a Hookah. This is a glass based water pipe about 3 ft tall with a long hose and mouth piece. They originate in India. We smoked strawberry flavoured tobacco for hours and enjoyed our drinks. Then we noticed a band setting up in the middle of the fountain..a jazz band. Such Fun! Later that night we made our way to the Singapore airport where we planned to crash before catching an early flight to Phuket Thailand..i'll tell you about that in the next post. Tah Tah.

Christmas

I worried that Christmas would be a sad time of year for me, being away from home and my family. I certainly missed them and our regular Christmas traditions such as tobogganning in the glow of christmas lights on our homemade luge run and having a big family dinner together. Although I look forward to spending next Christmas in the snow and with my family, I cannot say that this Christmas was not enjoyable. It was great, different but great. My christmas present flew across the world to be with me and I was surrounded by wonderful friends and good food. We had a potluck complete with chicken and stuffing!! After we filled our faces with treats prepared in Korea as well as some special treats sent from Canada,Thanks to my mom and Carmelle (thanks again ladies), we fought over gifts in one of those gift exchange games. To top it off we enjoyed many glasses of wine and listened to our own private concert compliments of Matt and had a few laughs as Mike pulled out a magic trick or two.

Apologies

Well I must apologize for my lack of blogging over the past couple of months. I'm back at the computer and ready to let you know what I've been up to lately. I've been very busy. Where do I start.....Well I guess the most important news occurred on December 16th. As some you know, this was the day that Mike flew over the pond to visit me during his Christmas holidays. It was so fantastic to see him after such a long time. He arrived at Incheon airport in the evening and we spent the night in Insadong. In the middle of the night we looked out the window to see the streets of Seoul blanketed in white fluffy snow. It was amazingly beautiful. We suited up in our hats and mitts and headed out for a late night tour of the town. There were people with umbrellas running for cover as if the snow would burn them like acid, while others took pictures of the massive snowflakes. This was the first and only real snowfall that I have experienced all winter, Mike must have brought it with him. IT was the greatest way to celebrate our new engagement. Yep...I said it. ENGAGEMENT. Can you believe it? It was the best Christmas gift I could have imagined. No dates yet, but its official.



Mike was pretty nervous coming to Korea, with the language barriers and cultural differences, however, it only took him a few days to feel quite at home. He was able to wander around the city trying various forms of street meat and practicing Korean words that I had scribbled in notebook for him, along with my cell number, work number home address and directions on how to ask for a taxi home. After seeing the sights, Mike was also able to come to school with me one day..The kids (and Mike) really got kick out of this. My principal was nice enough to give me the afternoon off that day as well. Most of my co workers had a ball chatting with mike and taking us out to dinner and as he found out, dinner here can be quite an adventure...raw everything from shrimp to fermented fish and squiggling life octopus. Now, you have to remember that Mike is "kind of" a picky eater..and doesn't like seafood...but to be a gentlemen in front of my coworkers and not offend them..he tried everything they put in front of him...nothing would stop him...not even a little vomit in his mouth half way through the meal. He just washed it down with countless glasses of soju. There's love.