Tower Hotel Pusan Busan

... any room left in his van for the trip to Busan. As luck would have it he had four seats. In the end it was my friend Sarah and I that would go from Uijeongbu. We met the rest of the crew heading down at 12am on Friday morning. We would be 8 in the van. The trip ended up being the same as last year minus the fun waves last time. The drive is always snug and a bit uncomfortable but the reward of swimming in the ocean at 7am after the long drive was well worth it. All in the trip was ...

... really rank sour smell that hangs round the exhibition - so so far BUsan's a choice between baking stinky fish guts above ground or sour old people smell below... delightful!

When I next emerged above ground I was literally stopped in the street by Mr Cho Nam-in "President of Sechang Custom's Brokerage and Customs Clearance Consulting" - according to his business card - who asked me if I would have 10 spare minutes to have ...

... cop for the Air Force (technic*lly c*lled "Security Forces"), *nd h*s therefore been to more pl*ces, th*t I don't even know *bout, over in the middle e*st, *nd even spe*ks Ar*bic, to *n extent. But, like me, this is his first time in the orient. And here I *m, scooping him up, still in his jet l*gged st*tus, to tr*vel, vi* bus, to * city 5 hours *w*y, to meet * group he doesn't know, in * city of 10 million people, where neither of us spe*k the l ...

... s going to get worse, but I am a firm believer in the old adage that God never gives us more than we can handle. Let's take this opportunity to do what you say you've always wanted to do, but were too lazy to. Whether that be travel, or be more active in politics, or volunteering, or taking up that hobby that you were good at when you were 18, but put it on hold for life. Let's spread the love...not the worry. I know that sounds overly optimistic, and ...

... br>I don't have any solid plans for Christmas. Everyone keeps asking me, "What are your plans for Christmas??!!" with these bright, expectant, smiling faces--like they expect me to tell them something fantastic!!! ...but nope. Maybe Christmas Eve, I'll gravitate towards some of the watering holes that all the other foreigners gravitate to. Not conventional, but it's where you can see and chat with people who celebrate ...

... can't get a good picture that way... BUT!! It actually turned out to be really cool. There were some traditional singers and dancers, lots of booths selling tea and traditional goods, and even some arts and crafts projects being led by the monks.

I had one really awkward moment...of course... Kim and I were standing behind a group of seated people watching the performances. I was happy to be standing because I had a good view to take pictures. All of a sudden ...

... and sure, they're a hike...but most of the trails are partially if not totally paved with railings...

So today, I was not entirely suprised when all the teachers, were wearing their "athletic get-up." They were all wearing work-out pants, long-sleeve button-up sweat shirts, big 'ol granny-gardening visors (very popular here...I'll get you one if you want mom), sunglasses, and sunscreen. I mean, ok, it was sports day, I ...

Well we had one of the most exciting/traumatic mornings that we have had in a longtime today. It started at 4:30 am with Kieran coming into my dorm telling me it was 6:30 and we are late already, as it turned out his watch had been acting up lately and the time had changed by itself during the night. And fortunately we were not late but an hour and a half early....nice!!!!!! guess who had to make the brekky this morning???!!!! So ...

... World type sash claimed, really was the bank manager; he positively looked about 15 years old and his only duties, apart from helping us, seemed to be to stand there smiling while he opened and closed the door for the branches customers. Btw, the name of our bank over here is Woori Bank, roughly pronounced 'worry' bank. You can probably then understand our concern when the card, that had worked a few days ...

... hamburgers and we all quenched our thirst with a flourescent slush puppy (after much debate we decided the flavour had hints of tomato). By then the game was up - the thought of getting back on our bikes and cycling in the blistering weather was appealing to no one. And so the afternoon was spent in a very similar vein to the previous one. We no doubt missed out on seeing some national treaures but the alternative threat of sunstroke was too high a gamble to take ...