Halloween...Pusan City...what more needs to be said?

JAGALCHI FESTIVAL 2006

We made our way back to our (Yvon's) favorite fish market today as it was festival time! I don't think we knew what was in store for the afternoon, but Yvon was beaming with anticipation!! As it turns out......an Eel Relay Race was waiting for us and some unsuspecting lads from Scotland...and one from Austria.

Yvon was most excited to be able to follow in the footsteps of his good friend Fitzy...I was merely a bystander that took one for the team..(well, mostly just let a dream come true for Yvon!).

As we stood in line waiting our turn, we got interviewed by the local event host, which stirred many laughs from the hundreds of Koreans watching from the sidelines. What got me in stitches was the host motioning what eels were good for...pretty much men's libidos...the hip thrusts were a good hint!!!! WOW... The translation was as follows.."Once you get married, eating eel will help you 'love' your wife.." I have a feeling our presence in this race was mere comic relief for the crowd...the other 10 teams weren't interviewed????

After many fotos taken by local media and onlookers...the race began...and this is how it unfolded.......

"What the hell am I doing here....do they bite?"...(The answer is yes..)
Slippery little suckers....Chris trying to get his hands on the eel....
The handoff......
Eeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww
On his knees...trying to pick up the little sucker without hurting it....
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..I didn't like this game.....
hahahah, it's gonna bite Yvon's crotch....hahahahahaha
He dropped it instead...poor little eel......
The losing team...but the happy team..we won crab lighters..need we say more...really?

WELCOME TO OUR APARTMENT:

Sometimes smells funny, sometimes smells downright NASTY. Sometimes has cockroaches trying to flee the bottom of my shoe...and ALWAYS has mozzies ( that's Moskitos..but as I have started hanging out with Aussies...they have become mozzies)! Either way, it has become home and I thought it was due time to let you all in.

Living Room, Office and Bedroom, Note the mental subdivisions!!

The Kitchen
The side of the kitchen
The Bathroom
The bathroom sink.....

And finally the shower...All in all it's not the best bathroom in the world..but it will have to do!! We have tried to mask the smell that comes up from the drain by putting MANY objects over it..... it's not working. I guess it's one of those things that will pass in due time, either that, or I will start to forget that my bathroom smells like a dying rat.

Have a nice day!!!!

A night in the life...

Walking home tonight, I thought I should take some shots of what life is like most nights here... Aside from tonight..we ate at a Thai restaurant..which is where I got the delicious wine..not something I have every night..in fact...it is a rare treat!!

Our favorite restaurant..better known to us as "Orange"
That's me...with wine...NOT at Orange...but still gooooood!!!!
This is the alley from the main road to our apartment...careful!!!
Our lovely, yet falling apart, infested with cockroaches, building. The lobby...where is the doorman?? Asleep as usual...GREAT security!!!
Home sweet home..with snacks.....

GOODNIGHT!!!

TERRY FOX RUN!!!!

I never would have guessed that we would have participated in a local cancer fundraiser, inspired by Terry Fox. Busan is now holding an annual 5km race/walk/bike/rollerblade to raise money for cancer research locally. For the ealy Sunday morning start, there was a fairly large turnout. Yvon and I had planned on rollerblading, however, he changed his mind and ran and I walked with Sharon and our friend Gloria. Yvon finished long before the three of us finished our walk...which was more a chance to chat about India (That is where Gloria is orginially from) and plan Yvon and I's trip there for the end of next summer. She thinks we are crazy kids as India will be nothing but hot hot hot...but, given this is our best chance.. we would be crazy not to take it!!! Her brother still lives there and will be able to set us up with local volunteer work and perhaps boys from his school to be our tour guides!!

The finish line was great, lots of people cheering and loud dance music playing.

We spent the afternoon at a beach around the corner...which was a 10 minute bus ride and so worth it. I went swimming which still amazes me for October 15th!!! The water was so clear and though there a fewer waves at this locale...it was so refreshing on a hot day. nah na nah na nah naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUCKERS.

Et bien, qui aurait cru que Terry Fox a inspire autant de gens autour du monde!! En ce beau dimanche matin (tres tot!) on s'est retrouve en compagnie de 1500 personnes qui ont couru, marche et patine un parcour de 5km pour la levee de fonds pour la recherche en Coree pour combattre le cancer. Le consulat canadien a organise l'evenement, mais la foule etait tres internationale! Des Australiens, des Americains, des Kiwis and bien sur, des Coreens! J'ai reussi a courir le trajet en un bon temps, et Amanda, qui devait le faire en patin a du le marche. Mais elle en a profite pour piquer une belle jasette avec Gloria, une de nos amis qui est australienne mais nee en Inde. Elles ont discute de notre voyage en Inde pour l'ete prochain avant notre retour au bercail. On a meme la possibilite de faire de benevolat avec son frere qui est Frere en Inde. Ce serait toute un experience!! Il est vrai qu'on s'est leve tot, mais l'evenement (et l'exercice!!) en a vraiment valu la peine!!

On a passe une bonne partie de notre apres-midi a la plage, car il faisait beau et chaud encore aujourd'hui. Ce fut notre premiere fois a cette plage, qui n'est qu'a dix minutes en autobus. Cette plage est plus propre, moins occupee, moins touriste et plus jolie que celle de l'autre cote de notre rue. J'ai bien l'impression qu'on va y retourner...

A plus...

Starting Line!!!

I think he was doing more dragging than she was running... Getting ready for the 5km...too early on Sunday morning...
Sharon and I sticking out our tummies and slouching..we were the slacker walkers
Yvon and Eleri...the tough runners...need I mention that Yvon was in the top 10!!
The lot of us....new friends from Gwanju and some from Busan.

Chusok has come and....

Well, almost gone...We stayed right here in our city this holiday weekend, somewhat bummed that we are not in some tropical location yet happy to be taking it easy. That might sound ridiculous when we only work 25 hours a week, but nonetheless. So we thought we would add a few photos to officially introduce our new friends...The sour looking Korean lady is not someone we hang out with regularly. She runs one of many. many Soju tents here in the city just off the beach in this case. Basically, these tents offer local delights and drinks. Most of the time it's quite cheap, unless you want the raw octopus!! I promised myself to try this at least once before I head home. The good news is I have lots of time. Sharon, beside our Korean host, is from Ireland (Galway) and Eleri from Wales. We were out for Eleri's birthday and found ourselves in this Soju tent for a while. Take note, the merchants will not take kindly to you only drinking...it almost felt like we were insulting her by not eating. Lesson learned!!

The two shots above the tent photo are of life here in Busan...the narrow streets littered with shops and signs. These are even more impressive at night! And a subway station would not be complete without emergency gas masks!! We think this might be there for gas leaks, as most places are equipped with gas stoves and heating (not that we need that yet) and to heat water. Or, they might be there just in case the north decides to target their "nuclear research" here.

The top two were taken during our second hike in Geumgang park. We made it to the South gate but learned that the East gate is a bit tougher to find.

That is all for now...

First outing!!!

Well, first outing outside of Busan. We hopped a train to the city of Gyeongju last night and found a hotel rather quickly. Our first choice did not pan out, a small place that is a traditional Korean home with a propos rooms. I guess we now know why one has to book a room there ahead of time! Nonetheless, it is impressive what a 45 dollar room looks like here compared to the same price at home. We were thrilled with it!! Not exactly a traditional Korean room but a good one.

Gyeongju is an ancient city and once part of the Silla (Shilla) empire (1500's), and I believe the capital. It is a city laid out on a plateau surrounded by mountains. The city itself and its surroundings are littered with temples, royal tombs and historical sites. There is so much to see but we had just the day there. So, like responsible tourists we rented mini motorbikes and zipped through a lakeside modern tourist neighbourhood filled with shops and expensive hotels! The photos do not lie, this was some kind of fun!! And all helmet free!! Not quite the fun one is allowed to have back home, even outside of Ontario!! We did see some tombs and temples and a parc on rented bikes. Amanda and I did quite well on the tandem bike, only a few close calls but no falls!! We some of the inside of a tomb which was okay, but the park it was in was beautiful. The tombs are actually huge mounds of earth covered in grass which blended in so well with its surroundings. We also enjoyed the last food item we thought we would find here...a pogo!!! That's right, the good old corn dog wih a little ketchup. It was deeeeeeelicious. The weather was outstanding!! Almost 30 degrees and it's October 3rd!!

We are back in Busan and have to work tomorrow before a four day weekend. Not sure what the weekend will bring, but we now feel like travellers and are ready for more trips, two days long or more, within Korea or in the Philippines.

A plus...

Alors, come vous pouvez voir sur les photos ci-dessous, on a passe notre fin de semaine a decouvrir notre ville. Elle est si grande et contient tellement de parcs et de quartiers a decouvrir. On a pris une ballade en gondole pour monter une des montagnes qui entourent la ville. La haut on peut y trouver une forteresse et des temples Buddhists. On a toute une vue de la ville, du moins d'une bonne partie! On a vire a droite au lieu de vire a gauche et on a manque la grande majorite des ruines et des temples...honnetement, j'ai suivi les filles!! On a pris le chemin qui descend la montagne et deux heures plus tard on s'est retrouve au bas de la montagne. On a bien l'intention d'y retourner bientot et de virer a guache pur voir les ruines!!

On est sorti hier soir et on a decouvert quelques bonnes places pour se detendre et prendre un verre. Une soiree qui s'est termine tard (ou tot?). Ce soir nous avons souper chez de nouveaux amis et avons rencontre du bon monde. C'etait bien de se retrouver en"gang" et de manger de la bonne nourriture.

Au total, nous avons vu trois nouveaux quartiers en une fin de semaine!! Il faut croire que le temps est venu de voir du paysage!!

A bientot...

Geumgang Park

Just a short subway ride from our house is this beautiful, mountain top and side park. We rode a cable car up the side of the mountain and once on the top, you can see an old fortress, which is a 17 km wall which was built in the 1700's. There are also a half dozen old temples and hot springs.

Unfortunately, we did miss all of those things as we took a wrong turn and headed straight down the side of the steep mountain. I should add that Yvon had suggested we go the "right" way, however Alari, Sharon and I thought we should go the "wrong" way....go figure the man actually knew where we were going....JUST THIS ONCE....

The very first picture is what we saw instead..which was beautiful in it's own way. We also found this secret temple on the way down...which is a shrine in a cave...where an old lady seems to live. With our limited conversation..we learned we had to take off our shoes, and that we couldn't take any photos, which is too bad because it was magical.

Next time, Yvon will be the tour guide!!!

Ciao!