Skiing and amazing race!

Skiing

Well, its been a while since I have updated here. Things are going along really well, we are all back and school and have been for about a month and a half. The new school year is going great so far (mostly because we always have the weekend to look foward to so that gets me through the week)!

About two weeks ago Donna (she is here now! and we are having so much fun together!), Liz Proctor and I went skiing with a korean friend of mine Ju-hoon. His uncle worked at one of the ski fields and it was the last weekend of skiing before spring so we decided to go. It was great because we got free lift passes and discounts on a place to stay so we were able to go skiing and also try out snowboarding all in a really cheap weekend.

The weather was soooo beautiful and we had a great time (although I must admit - I was bloody sore after the snowboarding, I think my bum is still sore from it). At night Ju-hoon's uncle came around and bought us heaps of food and alcohol. He was typically Korean - really generous. He even went downstairs and paid (again) for the hotel and made them refund what we had already paid as cash! we spent the next day trying to give it back to him and ju-hoon finally succeeded by slipping it to his 13 year old daughter. Anyway, here are a couple of photos:

Me, Ju-hoon and Liz

Donna, Liz and I (and the soju bottles that ju-hoons uncle bought):

And here is a photo of when we went skiing a wee bit earlier on in winter with the kiwi crowd and ji-hee:

Amazing race:

Then was our birthday weekend. Mine was on the Friday this year and Donna's was on the Saturday so it was an awesome weekend. On the friday night we met up with our incheon friends and went to a couple of bars. We had dinner at a korean bbq restaurant (galbi) first which was yummy:

Hailey, Dee and Yoyo at dinner:

 

 

Singing happy birthday to Donna:

 

The next day a Korean friend of ours (Ji-hee) had organised the 'Amazing race-Seoul'. It consisted of about 16 teams of four people (mostly foreigners) getting dressed up in themed costumes and racing around seoul to all these different famous places doing lots of different challenges. It was sooooo much fun. Donna, Yoyo and I were in a team together and decided on '80's chicks' as our theme here is a shot of us before we left home:

 

 

Here is the 'Ghostbusters' team:

 

And the 'ninjas' (Liz's team):

 

This is a photo of one of the many challenges we had to do. This one is 'bowing to an elder wearing purple' we tried to do it before she turned around and saw us.

That night we had an after party/birthday party in Anyang. Lots of the teams from the race came as well as heaps of other friends and it was a great night. A kiwi friend was dj-ing so there was lots of dancing and fun. Here are some photos of that:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, a great couple of weeks and lots of stuff coming up too. So you ill keep you posted!

CHINA!!

Well, what a great way to start the year - with a trip to china. It was soooo much fun, we had a great time so I thought I should do the full write up with pictures and everything. So here goes.

Firstly, I went with my two good friends from over here, Yoyo and Dee. Both of them came to Cambodia and Vietnam last year when I went but this year we decided to do it by ourselves and just buy the tickets and go as opposed to last years tour. And It was a great way to do it - we were able to choose all the different things we wanted to do and fit it all in and amazingly for three girls away on vacation together for ten days - we didnt have any arguments which was great!! (love you guys!)

We did however have a few mishaps - the first one being that when we entered at Beijing airport we were so excited that we picked up our luggage and walked out without going through immigration or getting our visas stamped (I know you will all be wondering how we could be that stupid but have you ever been to a country where that is even possible - if there is no line or people telling you to go a certain way then you just don't think about it - I have one word for you China - SECURITY!! Hello!). So anyway - got to our hotel and had an email from the airline saying that we had to get it sorted or we couldn't get back into Korea, so anyway - long story short - we were in China for five days illegally before we got it sorted but it was all good in the end! haha.

So anyway - we had five days in Beijing, our hotel was in a great area (near Wangfujing St for anyone that knows Beijing). This is me and yoyo at a market near our house (Where we bought HEAPS of cheap dvds)

 

Then we went to the great wall. It was AMAZING!! Soooo big and such a good view. It was really good weather too - you could see for miles. Although it was pretty cold and windy up the top. And soooo many people!!! Heres a few photos of us:

 

Me and Dee:

 

 

Although I must admit - I didn't quite understand which side of the wall the Mongols were supposed to be attacking from, it looked like it wiggled around over all the mountains - but - im pretty sure they knew what they were doing. Anyway.

This is Dee, yoyo and I

 

That night when we got back into Beijing we were pretty tired but decided to go out for dinner to this restaurant which is famous for it's Peking Duck. And I tell you what - usually I dont really like duck, but this was soooo yummy! It was definitely worth it (but expensive, for Chinese standards).

 

The men carving our duck:

 

Us eating the duck:

 

The next day we decided to hit the shops, we had asked people where the best markets were and they all told us the 'Silk St Market'. So we decided to go check it out (all ready to bargain!). And we had sooooo much fun. I swear i think I found my calling with the bargaining, I LOVE it and was told a couple of times by the Chinese that I drove a hard bargain, and you should have seen the jewelery floor! It was amazing! (I bought about 5 pairs of earrings....)

After shopping all morning we were tired and hungry so had to go to a nearby cafe to recover before the afternoon session. And imagine our surprise when we found out that in China there are heaps of cool little cafes that have western style food and are just like back at home - seriously, we dont have that in Korea so it was great! I even had a glass of New Zealand wine!

 

This is us with our new sunglasses we had all just bought (Versace):

 

After the afternoon shopping we decided to hit the town that night. We had also asked some of the locals where the best bar areas were so we headed off - the first area was call 'Ho Hai' it was ok, and looked really cool - all these bars around a big lake (which was frozen over) and heaps of fairy lights and stuff, but in every bar the music was the same - Chinese kareoke, which needless to say we were not really feeling. We ended up in this crazy Chinese nightclub where they were having all these weird games on the dance floor, this is when we decided to try another area.

Yoyo in one of the Kareoke places:

 

Anyway, we ended up stumbling across this really really cool club just as we were about to head home (Yoyo's club radar picked it out). This place was awesome, really big with like three different rooms and two different DJ's and a good mix of Chinese and foreigners, and cheap drinks so that was great. Stayed there till the early hours and met lots of people which was cool.

 

The next day we decided to go to the Beijing zoo, it was cool to see the animals but so sad at the same time to see the conditions that they are left in. My highlights were the grizzly bears and hippos, oh and of course - the pandas - which China is famous for. But you should have seen the things that the crazy Chinese were throwing into the bear pen to feed them, stuff like candy floss and lollies (along with the plastic wrap).

 

Me and Dee with a panda:

 

The Chinese feeding the bears:

 

Yoyo riding an elephant - she got herself into a bit of a sticky situation there....

 

Me in the tiger section....I swear, that was scary - the locks and bars were soooo ghetto and rusty...

 

That night I met up with a Korean friend, Ju-Hoon, and ended up going to K-town (Korea town) haha, went to a Korean style hof where there was heaps of writing all over the walls and stuff all in Korean and English. There were heaps of foreigners there, not just Koreans so it was cool.

 Me and Ju-Hoon:

 

The next day we went to Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City (Where the emperor lived with all his wives and concubines-all 3000 of them!) and the Summer palace (Where he went in the summer with all his wives and concubines).

Tianamen Square:

 

Inside the Forbidden City:

 

Then we went to the summer palace where it was so cold - the lake was frozen over:

 

 

The next morning we had to get up really early to go to the airport (to get our visas sorted), we then said goodbye to Beijing and flew to Shanghai. It was amazing how different Shanghai was, for a start the buildings were all a lot higher and much more modern (although dispersed in between the big buildings were the little shacks):

 

 

We went to People's Square that night to too around and have dinner. Soooo many shops and people and men asking if you wanted 'bags, shoes, watches??' And heaps of lights:

 

The next day we met up with Lynn Stevens (from Oamaru - friends with the Greenwood/Anderson family) for lunch at a little cafe owned by a New Zealander (where we had GREAT paninis - you just dont get western food like that in Korea!), it was so great to see her and she gave us lots of tips on where to go and what to see. That afternoon when she went back to work we went to the Bund, which is the area down by the river. The buildings down there were amazing!!!! We all got the postcard shot with the famous Pearl Tower in the background. Here is mine:

 

Then we went on a cruise along the river - we were told that it is better at night but we didnt have another free night so decided to do it in the day - and it was still great. And such beautiful weather! China really turned it on for us.

 

 

We then went under the river in a crazy little cable car ride (which reminded us of the boat ride in Charlie and the Chocolate factory) and went to this MASSIVE mall. It was so huge and had a really cool design:

 

That night the Stevens took us out to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant 'The grape' it was really really good Chinese food and great to spend time with them. They were all so welcoming and showed as a really great time.

The next day we met up with Lynn and Sarah and they took us to a market to go shopping - again! And it was great! We got awesome deals on Miu Miu bags (which Keith Stevens told us later were good copies and we got a good price for them - and he works in leather so he would know!). After all that shopping we were exhausted so first stop was Starbucks for a coffee:

Sarah, Yoyo and I:

 

Then we went to a place called Dragonfly for the most amazing foot massages - they were sooooo good, the five of us were in a room with soft music and waterfalls and I swear - that guy had magic hands! And so cheap!! (I could definitely live in Shanghai!)Then after we were all relaxed we went to the Stevens apartment where Lynn cooked us a fantastic home cooked meal. We were sooooo lucky to have them there and to meet up with them!

Lynn and I chatting over a wine:

 

Later we went to see a reggae band play with Sarah and her boyfriend Joel which was heaps of  fun, great to hang out with those guys.

 

Dee, Sarah and Joel:

 

Me and yoyo:

 

Finally our last day in China we met up with some of Yoyo's friends from America who are now living in Shanghai which was really nice. After this we went to O'Malleys Irish bar (which I remembered Chrystal mentioning from her time in China) and met up with the Stevens again (including Hamish who was in Shaghai for the weekend - great to catch up with him) and watched the Highlanders win against the Western Force! It was the first time I had watched a rugby game live in  looong time so I was happy (and the first time Yoyo and Dee had ever even seen a rugby game - I think they were quite impressed).

After this we went out with Sarah to a bar called 'Peoples' where there was a little puzzle to get in the door and also to get into the toilets - very fun. and drunk vodka test tubes:

 

 

 

Then went to a crazy club that may as well have been in the mall - weird.

 

The next morning we got up and had our last good western meal and coffee in a cafe at People's Square, before we had to head back to Korea. We took the fast train out to the airport - called the Mag Lev. I think it stands for 'Magnetic levitation' cause it doesnt actually touch the tracks it zooms along in the air above them. It was so freaky, it got up to 431 kms an hour and the whole train leaned over when we went round a curve - freaky but fun!! I so thought it was going to go off the tracks, but what do you know, proved wrong again.

 

So that was our trip - arrived back in Korea with no hassles, and lots of great memories of China. Thanks Dee and Yoyo for making it great and being awesome to travel with!!

 I definitely want to go back!

And now back at school and into a new year and new adventures. Donna is coming over here in a couple of weeks which I'm soooo excited about and this weekend going skiing with the kiwi crowd which will be great!

 

 

 

December

Well, it's been a while but thought I would do a quick update of how I spent December here in Korea.

Been having some fun times with friends, it was my friend Ji-Hee's birthday on the 16th and she had a big party at a bar in Seoul, Karl was the DJ and it was great times. Heres a few pics from that (the theme was red):

Karl, Westie, Tiffany, Jase and me after dinner before the party:

Karl doing his stuff at the party (don't know the two people on the right...??):

Me and Dee:

Then the week after that a few of us Kiwis and some of our Korean friends got together for an early Christmas dinner in Seoul. Went to a fantastic Greek place where the manager actually used to live in New Zealand - pretty funny, a Korean with a kiwi accent. Ended up doing a bit of dancing after that and left my bloody christmas presents in the taxi on the way home, I was NOT a happy girl when I realised that! Here are some photos:

Before dinner Me Ji-Hee, Leah and Liz:

At dinner:

At Bar Nana had some great music:

Then a couple of nights before christmas went out to our favourite bar in Bupyeong (near my home), and met up with some Korean friends:

haha, and then there was Christmas. Went to an island about two hours away from Incheon, we were staying in this really cute little cabin near the sea. Bout 8 of us. It was good times, not a lot to do on the island except talk and drink and relax, and we went for a couple of walks to the sea (one of which involved Liz, Lyndsay and I walking over this hill through trees and then noticing a big landmine sign! we were shitting ourselves!) We also went to noraebang (kareoke) which was great funand hired a bbq on Christmas eve and cooked that up.

The sunset on the beach:

Inside our little cabin:

Cedric and Yoyo cooking the bbq:

Pub Golf!

Well, last weekend we had our pub 'golf' night. It was good times, with heaps of different costumes and lots of fun. Thought I would post a few photos up. Carla, Liz, Renee and I all went as she devils. They are all cool kiwi chicks from my rugby team. Heres a photo of the four of us at the beginning of the night:

 

Renee and I showing off the 666 on our arms (we thought this was just the right finishing touch to win us best dressed!)

 

 

Our rugby coach, Westie, went as Batman:

 

 

All the koreans on the street thought it was great, as we moved from pub to pub we got asked for sooooo many photos and stuff, and little kids loved staring at the super heroes (we had batman, spiderman and superman).

 

At one of the pubs to make par we had to sit on the floor - that was pretty funny and definitely attracted some strange looks! Here is Liz and I:

 

 

This last one is the 'she devils' and the 'biker chicks' giving each other flack (friendly of course!)

Anyway, it was a great night all round, but despite our best efforts (and the naughtiness and cheating that comes with being a devil), we only came third however we were the ONLY team to all complete our pint skull at about the 6th pub - kiwis showing them how its done!

 

Hey!! Well I thought I would update and post the photos of my recent trip to Hong Kong with the Seoul Sisters rugby team.

We left on Friday after school and had a fun flight over there (after some very late arrivals running through customs!) When we arrived we found our rooms in our backpackers (seemed like they were spread halfway round HK! - all in different buildings and stuff) then went out for a 'few' drinks. We were staying in an area called Cause Way Bay.

Then the next day we went on a chartered junk boat cruise to an island - it was sooooo much fun.  The theme was nautical - Heres a picture of Carla as a frog and I was supposed to be a synchronised swimmer (with Liz) however only realised later that 'nautical' means to do with the sea - not water...oh well.

All of these are on board the junk boat:

Once I figure out how to get photos off some of the others ill put in some photos of the beach we ended up at

By the way - we had to wear the cowboy hats - it was the tour rules...you got fined if you lost it.

Some annoying person went round with chocolate sauce and put it on everyone - I tell you what - it's hard stuff to get off....haha there will be some photos of that later.

The next day we had a bright and early start - kick off for our rugby game against the Hong Kong womens team (who just came second in the Asia women's rugby cup) was 8.30am. Unfortunately i didnt realise that cellphones immediately changed their time to 12.00 when they go to a new country - so my roommate and I were waiting downstairs for everyone to meet at 2am....i was thinking that it really was VERY dark at 6.45am in HK! So obviously i got some flack for that!

No one got any photos of our actual game - haha. We had breakfast afterwards with the other team at the Hong Kong Rugby Club (it was so flash!)

We just spent the rest of the day hanging out around Hong Kong - me and some of the other Kiwis went to the beach, it was brilliant. Then flew out on the redeye flight back to Seoul....needless to say I was a VERY tired girl when I turned up at school (flight got in at 6.30am and I had work at 8.30am) haha - but it was all good.

Finally, this is Carla being wheeled onto the plane on a wheelchair - we had a lot of injuries: