Korean Sauna

No, I haven't been to a sauna recently...I just live in one. Tonight it's really mild though - only 79% humidity at 10:00.

I love summertime but I hate being hot. I love the snow but I hate being cold. I love rainy days but not more than a few in a row. I doubt there's a place that has perfect weather...but if there is...I want to find it.

I'm looking for a place with temps between 50 and 80 degrees fahrenheit, lots of sun, a bit of snow, a bit of rain, some greenery, and no smog. Is there a place like that??? If so, please let me know. I'll have my bags packed in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

So, as you've probably deduced...it's been to hot to blog. Does that sound sane? Every time I sit down in front of the computer my mind goes blank and I start to hallucinate. Sure, I've experienced humidity before. In Minneapolis there were some nasty days...but there was air conditioning everywhere you went. Central America, Jamaica, and the Philippines were really humid but I could get away with wearing a sarong and bathing suit for days at a time. Plus, the ocean is a nice benefit in those places.

Yes, this is turning into a bitch session so I'll guess I'll just quit right here. I'll throw in some pictures of what I've been up to lately.

Gwangalli beach in Busan

Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju

Hiking on Namsam

Yes! Yes! Yes! We found mexican food in Busan.

Most Korean people don't wear swimsuits when they swim in the ocean. In fact, a Korean friend of mine has a pair of swimming pants that he uses when he swims.

Can you figure out what this is about? It was much funnier in person - especially with all the squeaking and falling Nathan was doing.

After his strip show...Nathan introduced us to fireworks on the beach.

And then he impressed the hell out of the Koreans with his smooth Wyoming-style rodeo skills.

There was a light misting of rain on the hike up to the grotto. It kept us cool and lent an air of mystical beauty to the whole day.

This little frog has a red belly - and no we didn't lick him.

Yep...picturesque.

These buddah statues are from the 7th century. Pretty damn old, if you ask me.

I'll bet this monk lady would agree with me...maybe not in the same language though.

More carvings along a trail around Namsan.

Jason and I and some Korean guy's butt.

These are two of the ladies I teach book club-style english lessons to a few times a week. It's been a wonderful way to understand more about Korean culture. Plus they're great hikers - I struggled to keep up and they're both 47 years old!

Dancing Matt in 2008

While in Buena Vista, Colorado last May, I watched a Good Morning America episode entitled, "Where in the World is Matt?". Matt Lauer (the anchor) was in Cape Town, South Africa. He interviewed a guy named Matt Harding. Harding is a 'regular joe' who was traveling the world...and dancing. He videotaped himself in different areas around the world doing a funny little dance. I'm not sure why, but I've thought of his video quite often in the last year.

I got wind of his 2008 video the other day. While watching it I got choked up for some reason. Yes, I know that those of you who know me well are aware that I could get choked up watching Keanu Reeves read Shakesphere - but this is good. Trust me!

http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

Nagan Folk Village

Below are pictures of our last trip with Josh and Jackie. We went to Nagan Folk Village with them and Ollie. They're back in Canada now waiting for school to start. They're attending Teacher's college in the fall. Josh and Jackie should be teacher's...I think I could write a essay on the current Canadian government, it's structure and pitfalls. If I learn nothing valuable about Korea while I'm here, I'll at least be content with newly aquired knowledge of Newfies, French Canadians, and poutine.

Seriously...I know I've mentioned it before...but they're crazy about side dishes here. They're called banchan and they're free. They come with everything and are always a little bit different. There's seaweed with sesame seeds and sesame oil, marinated mushrooms, clams, pickled ginger, tofu pieces, shrimp, seasoned bean sprouts, and of course...the ever present...kimchi!
Nagan Village is an old walled fortress town that has been well preserved. There are still people that live in the town but it leans more towards tourist trap than actual town.
All guards have fake beards in Korea.

This lady was singing the most heart wrenching song I've ever heard. It was also heart wrenching to listen to her for too long.

Jackie and I couldn't get this right.
Actually since everyone else seemed to figure it out - maybe it was just me.
These old school teeter-totters allowed the young women in the village to see beyond the walls.
Pheasant hunting party???

Many of these traditional homes are also minbaks. Minbaks are similar to hotel rooms - except they have no beds.
The traditional love pose.

We sat just outside the wall late into the evening drinking soju and eating watermelon with some locals. It was a very cool evening.

Instead of pumping your legs you're supposed to do squats on the swing to keep your momentum going. I found it easier to have Jason give me a push once in a while.

Ollie in traditional garb.

Suprise

I was lying in bed reading a book one morning when I noticed some feet outside my window. I'm sure we were told that crews were coming to fill some cracks in the building but we didn't understand. Needless to say I was a bit suprised by what I saw - remember that we live on the 15th floor.

Everyone loves The Beatles

I love YouTube! This is a cute little Korean kid singing his heart out.

My new love...

What's there to say about the Philippines other than the people were friendly, the rum was cheap, and the ocean was unbelievable.

The pictures are in no particular order - I had over 1,200 to go through so it would have taken me another week or two to post if I had to worry about that. I hope you enjoy them anyway.

!Vive El Nido!

Here's the little plane we had to fly in to get to the island of Palawan.

And here's the cute little 'tricycle' coming to pick us up.

El Nido town beach.

We left Ulsan after work on Friday at 8 pm and didn't arrive in El Nido until almost 5 o'clock on Saturday evening. It was a long day but the beautiful sunset we saw on our first night there let me know that it was worth it.

Helicopter Island beach.

There are beaches here and there on many of the little islands. It's easy to find a deserted one where you can chill.

Jason was overcome with emotion - he loved everything about the place.

I don't know what my face is doing here...but the background is a typical store in El Nido. You have to ask for a specific item and the shopkeeper will bring it to the counter for you to purchase. It wasn't too hard because everyone spoke English. If they had those kind of stores in Korea I think I would have starved to death long ago.

There was a healing center in El Nido that we patronized for their wicked cheap massages - which were awesome (but not as good as Jessica's).

This cute little tree frog hung around outside our room at night.

Marber's restaurant is owned by a Filipino lady and her German boyfriend. Jason enjoyed many a German meals there while looking out at the ocean.

We went on a island trekking tour to Cadlao island. The hike went through the dense forest, through mangroves, to an inland lagoon, and along the beaches.

Inland lagoon.

Cool rocks surrounding the lagoon.

Cute little piggies that lived on Cadlao island.


The two songs that ran through my head our entire trip were Yellow Submarine and Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.

A pic of me showing off my handy umbrella hiking stick.

This is an example of most of the homes in the villages around El Nido.

This cuddly little spider is the size of a softball. It was hanging out in our bathroom for a few days. The lady owner of the resort told us it wasn't dangerous and left it there. We ended up having one of the kids who worked on the resort catch it for us. He chased it around the bathroom for five minutes before he caught it - in his hand with only a gardening glove as protection. We were told that it was a baby spider and the adult ones get to almost a foot in diameter. Yikes!

We went on an island hopping/snorkling trip the third day we were in town. In order to get to some of the beaches and spots we snorkled you had to weave your way (in a boat) through these tall rock mazes.

We went snorkling in this little cove. The water was clear and beautiful but it was also full of tiny jellyfish. The sting didn't hurt too much more than being snapped by a rubber band. Good thing too since I was stung about fifty times that day.

The snorkling here reminded me of a Disneyland ride I went on when I was little. It was a fake submarine that went underwater and you saw things like mermaids sitting inside giant clam shells. That stuff is true! We saw giant clam shells big enough for me to fit inside and blue starfish two feet wide. I still think there might have been mermaids there too.

If you look closely you can see one of the many monsterous bug bites I got. It's just above my right knee.


These cool mini islands were dotted all around Bacuit Bay.

We were spoiled at our resort - this is the view we had while sipping our instant coffee and eating breakfast everyday.

This is the boat the resort used to shuttle supplies to and from town. The resort was called Taiyo Village.

The notches in the tree are hand and foot holds. We saw a little boy about seven climb up one of the palms and knock down some coconuts. He shimmied up the tree so fast it reminded me of a fast forward scene from Giligan's Island.

There were two ways to get from our resort to the town. One was along the beach during low tide. The other was through this village in the forest.

If you look carefully in the lower left hand side of the picture you'll see a water buffalo enjoying the shade.

This little restaurant was on our way to town and it beckoned us for a beer a time or two.

The sand crabs ran so fast I could never catch them except with the camera.

We were invited up to see the view from some local people's home. The couple (a Filipino lady and English gent) had the coolest house. It was built into the side of the cliff.

The lady of the house gave us some water and a few books to look at that were about the local flora and fauna and the people of the Philippines. Everyone we met was wonderfully friendly.

Another view from their perch.

These are the type of boats that are used in the Philippines. They have bamboo stabilizing arms on the sides of them - very effective.

Jason hanging out in front of our resort. Cadlao island is behind him.

Another beautiful sunset.

This cutie is hanging out on the local transport. They're called tricycles but they're more like a motorcycle with a sidecar.

Kids and women walked through the streets of El Nido selling fish. We bought a snapper one night and Jason cooked us up a delicious meal.

Ladies about town.

Flower.

The beach path to town.

The roots that you can see of this tree are actually parasitic. The real trunk is only about a foot wide.

I took this picture - I'm very proud of it.

These hard core kids threw up some gang signs for us. That was about as scary as it got in El Nido.

Flower.

The sand in many places was still very rough. There were huge shells and coral everywhere as it hadn't been picked over by beachcombers yet.

Our only couple photo of the whole trip and it's terribly dark.



Goodbye El Nido...until next time...