Garden of the Morning Calm

We spent our Sunday exploring an amazing garden just north of Seoul - built about 50 years ago, it is an amazing place with stunning colours for this time of year - autumn - and has many wonderful features to explore. Leaving Suwon at 7.30am turned out to be a wise decision as the traffic was great and we arrived at 9am when the garden opened. This is prime time for the garden so it was pretty busy but we were able to grab a group photo at the entrance way without disturbing too many others!


We took 3 cars and had a nice group of teachers from GSIS - nice to mix with others from different divisions, all with the love of the outdoors and photograhy!  The garden had several types or themes, some were very floral, but a large number of areas were about shrubs and trees with pathways etc.

The Sunken garden area was especially interesting, as from a higher vantage point it had the shape of the Korean peninsula and it's purpose was to represent re-unification.

We stopped for a break at about 11am for coffees and so on, so I went back to the car to grab the banana cake I'd made - and discovered crowds of people coming in. It was incredible! We left to return to Suwon at about 2pm, and were amazed at the same thing - the stream of traffic coming down the 2 lane road into the garden would have gone on for about 4-5 km, at a snail's pace. We were really happy with our choice of timing - the drive home was without traffic hold-ups too, so we able to catch up with some other bits and pieces at home as well.

All in all it was an amazing place, I would highly recommend it to anyone coming to Korea.

Here's the slideshow from photobucket:

Exploring Mt Gwanggyo in Autumn

Sunday - a day of worship and a chance to get out and about, get refreshed and ready for the working week!

Today we decided to explore the Suji side of Mt Gwanggyo. We had walked up the Suwon side last year, but there are numerous trails, and today was clear (for here!!) so we thought it would be good for views.  Recently our Friday 'Elementary Coffee' was held at a cafe called 'Analog' which happened to be up this valley where the map showed the trails, so I made a mental note to visit again and check it out.

The trail began by going up a road past a Buddhist temple, then branched off in all sorts of directions.  Unfortunately, I can't yet read Korean well enough to be able to translate it for myself, so it came down to following the locals. Not a bad decision! Many locals were out enjoying the day and were dressed up seriously - walking sticks, proper gear on, all the latest sports gear for walkers...So, we followed them.

The trail was good - steep in parts - which was to be expected due to the fact that we were walking up a mountain. We enjoyed the views as they were developing as we gained altitude, and were excited to see a clearing looming. We were rather taken aback to find a concrete "H" - presumably a helipad??? - and a solar powered height meter. Yes, you read correctly. A height meter - for humans. AND, it also weighed you. *sigh*. Only in Korea?!!!

Feeling somewhat disappointed, the views not being so easy to see from here, we glanced about to discover that there were some rocks in view where people were sitting - obviously being able to see for miles - so we headed in that direction. We were really pleased to get up there and see what was possibly the best view of the area we've ever had - lovely blue sky in most directions, and only a smattering of smog in the distance!!

 Got the self-timer working again!!

Looking down to the left you can see a highway, the valley in front of it is where there are a lovely selection of cafes and restaurants. Our part of Suwon is towards the right, in fact....

... we live near the lake here - kind of! To the left of the lake a little...

Anyway, it was a great walk up. Down - not so fun. Sore hips tonight!!!

Enjoy the slideshow:

Isabel

Kuala Lumpur

We've been exploring a new city (to us) since arriving on Saturday, and have enjoyed new sights and sounds, but are starting to get to that part of the holiday where we are almost a bit 'over it' - hard to believe, I know!! 

Nonetheless, Sunday morning I woke with a mission to accomplish - I decided I wanted to get to a church and had done some internet research and found one that looked promising. We headed off in a taxi and ended up in an industrial/commercial building looking area, but found the right place. No signs anywhere, not even at the door of the building, but several people making their way inside, so we confirmed that we had found the right place. The service was all in English, and I think it was a 'Church of Christ' denomination. 

We were welcomed by a lovely young woman who got talking with us and introduced us to the Pastor and various other people. Once she knew we lived in Korea, she was really excited and said she was coming (with others) to Seoul in September, so she might just be able to catch up with us! She took us to the train station after the service and told us how to go about getting back into the centre of town, so - off we went! 

We've been happily using the public transport system here, conveniently nearby the hotel is the train station, and we've managed to get ourselves a 'myrapid' card - similar system to Seoul where you use a credit card type of thing, and scan your way on and off the trains, buses, or monorails. 

We've had a wander around the twin towers area (impressive, but expensive to go up there, and you have to book ahead...)the central markets, the KL Lakes park, the butterfly park, and today (26th) we decided to venture further and head to a Forest Reserve that I'd read about as it looked lovely, and had a 'Canopy Walk', intending to firstly visit the famous 'Batu Caves'.

We've been sleeping in a bit here, not so quick out of bed in the mornings, so we didn't leave the room till about 10.30am. The rail system maps that we've been following made it look like we had to go back 2 stations to connect with the train heading to Batu Caves - where we were planning on going. We headed off, got tickets, and hopped on the train only to discover it went right past our hotel, just over behind a building opposite us - and yes, there was a station there too. Hmmm. 

Oh, well, onwards we went - only to discover we'd got on the wrong train, as it took off to the left, when we should have been on one that went right. Undeterred, we got off, crossed over to the other side and waited half an hour or so to get the train back and try again. We arrived back to Putra station (yes, the one just beside the hotel....) and sat down to wait for the next train. 

This time it was the signs that fooled us. The time for the next train was displayed, and that train was going to Segambut where we had just been, so we knew NOT to get on that one. Trouble is - no train appeared at that time, and it was about 8 minutes later, and with a new sign flashing saying 'Batu Caves' - so we got on it. Mike was having doubts at this stage, but I couldn't understand why the sign would be flashing,and the time was correct, if it wasn't the train for the caves. It wasn't. We went to Segambut again. *Sigh* 

 So, change of plans!! I had hoped to go to this Forestry area AFTER exploring Batu Caves, but I was starting to wonder whether that visit was just 'not meant to be'. (if you have ever heard of Batu Caves, some pretty weird stuff goes on there as part of a Hindu celebration annually.) So, we worked out where to get off, and headed towards a taxi stand. We showed the driver the booklet, and he quoted 30 Ringget (about $10) so we thought 'fine' and off we went. 

The area we visited was stunning - a much better choice I'm sure!! The Canopy walk turned out to be amazing, and while there we heard a storm brewing - thunder rumbling, wind whipping up - so we were lucky as I think the walk would have been closed up once the rain started - which it did! Lucky for me I still had my cheapo adjima umbrella that I picked up in Vietnam, so we didn't get completely drenched. 

We took a bit of a wander around looking for a place to have some food, then found a cafe that looked a bit like the workers' one, and for 16 ringget (about $5.30) we had some delicious spicy Malaysian food, and a couple of drinks. We had been given a business card from the taxi driver, so we figured we'd have to head out to the entrance area as you have to pay to get in, so we set off. We decided that we'd just wait and see if any taxis were going past and give it a couple of minutes before ringing, and as it turned out, a taxi went past, free. He turned his meter on, and took us back to the train station. This taxi ride cost us 5.20 ringget!! The realisation that the other taxi driver had ripped us off quite considerably was the cause of much laughter, as we still appreciated getting there safely anyway, and $10 is ok...but taxi drivers!!! Honestly, they see you coming when you are not a local..! 

One impression of this area that has surprised me is the crime rate - we had a Sunday paper at the door that had about a 4 page article all about bag snatching, robbery, rape, and crimes against women. In the hotel information folder there was a laminated 2-page document giving you safety tips, and warning you about wearing jewelry, not carrying all your stuff in a bag, not wearing your bag on the shoulder that faces the road - as some snatchers come past on motorbikes!!! The trains even have some carriages that are labelled 'only for women'!!! It has really been the only place so far where we have had to be really conscious of personal safety. 

Tonight we plan on heading to Chinatown to eat, so hoping to find some delicious and cheap eating places over there. Tomorrow is our last day in KL, and then we head to Singapore for 4 nights. I am excited about meeting my cousin, Graeme Baumgart, who I haven't seen since I was about 3 or 4 years old, but who now teaches in Singapore. While we feel ready to head home, and have loved exploring Asia, and we know we will come back this way again someday!

Vietnamese Vacation

It has reached the point in our holiday where we are starting to say 'what day is it?'!! This is a good sign - not worrying about schedules, only doing what we have to, or choose to - now THAT is luxury!

We began this part of our trip in HCM City with a long stopover before flying to Nha Trang, so decided to pay a driver and have a tour. He showed us a lot of significant sites, beautiful architecture, and we visited significant buildings such as the reunification palace, the old post office, Ho Chi Min's statue in the central city area, and we had a wander around the zoo. It was a great opportunity to take a flying tour around a city that interests us as a possible place to come and work in - and luckily, we left with good impressions.

 View from Reunification palace - the tanks burst through this gate to claim Saigon back from the US...


We were taken to see the War Memorial Museum, which had a pretty graphic display of the Phuc Quoc prisoner of war camp - and the story of what happened there, as well as interviews with survivors on posters along a wall. A stark reminder of how recent the war was, and how it's impact is still felt keenly. There were several people here with terrible injuries and deformities, some in groups doing crafts or playing music, others trying to sell books etc. We read that every year there are up to 2000 people still being injured from land mines or other war remnants - the ongoing effects still being felt today. Very sobering.

this photograph is off a torture room where a person would have their feet locked into position and they couldn't move...

Nha Trang has become a seaside holiday resorts for Russians with money - and their influence is shown in menus all over the strip beside the beach! No different to other areas in the world where this happens, but we were pleased we had changed our itinerary and only had 3 nights there instead of the planned 7.  It was sunny and hot every day, and we both ended up quite sunburnt - me not intentionally, Mike fully intentionally. Strange, but true.

 The view out the window of an upstairs open-air Vietnamese restaurant - very pleasant lunch, sea breeze blowing...

Impressions - great beach, a bit spoiled by tourism, quite a few hawkers who get tiresome, shopping not great, food ok. Nice weekend place, but not such a hit with us.

 However, the food was great - this shot is taken whilst eating beside the sea at a restaurant called 'Sail Club' - lovely food, great atmosphere, nice to be here in the evening despite it still being about 28 degrees!! I must admit - this was the strangest tasting chocolate brownie I've ever eaten. Suspicious - I am sure it was made with rice flour...not quite the same!

Hoi An was the next destination and it out-does Nha Trang in spades! We hired a car and driver to get here, which was expensive but easier by far, and after spending from 9am - 7pm in the car with only 2 stops we were very pleased to arrive.
We are staying in the most beautiful hotel I think I"ve ever stayed in, and in a luxurious villa beside the pool - yep, tis the life of Riley here! If you're from the 'west' your money goes a long way in Vietnam.

Hoi An is well known as a tourist spot for several reasons - it's charm, it's shopping and tailoring and it's architecture. (I'm debating over apostrophes as I write this. I'm thinking they are required due to the charm belonging to Hoi An!!) Hoi An is near where a lot of action took place in what is referred to here as 'The American War' but managed to escape relatively unscathed. The 'Old Town' is so beautiful, and has many interesting places to visit. At night it is lit up with lanterns and looks positively magical. We have been here 2 nights and have walked around many streets but have still missed a large portion of the area, so are happy to be here till the 11th to soak it all up! The weather here hasn't been quite as hot as Nha Trang, but it is humid, so having A/C is wonderful to come back to, not to mention how delightful it is to have a pool at the door.

 eat your heart out, Lady Gaga!

We have had our first experience of having clothing tailored - and I am quite excited about picking all the goods up today. I have one dress already - kind of military looking, a 'shirt dress' in olive green which needs a wash to get the tailoring marks off! I also have a lady making me a copy of one of my favourite dresses that I'm going to pick up this morning. I'm hoping it turns out ok..! An exciting adventure. Photos will follow!

As we've traveled, we've usually found places that are businesses set up to help those on the bottom rungs of society to get a chance in life - I tend to find out before hand, either word of mouth, or via websites or lonely planet, so I was pleased when we strolled past a cafe called 'Streets' - to find out that it was similar to KOTO in Hanoi. Basically, kids off the streets are given an opportunity to train in the food industry - along with getting education in the business they also teach them English and other skills too. If you're interested check their website out : Streets There is also a business called Reaching Out here, this one is for people with disabilities, and enables them to learn art or crafts and then learn to run the business. Again, we just found this one as we were strolling about, but what a lucky find - there are beautiful crafts there, very impressive. They are a fair trade organisation too, and interesting to read about.

It has been really noticeable here that most of the Vietnamese have quite good English - more than any other place we have been to so far. Also making an impression is the transitional phase that the country seems to be in - it has definitely got third world areas still, and slums still exist alongside new areas of development. There are beggars at certain places, but more often you'll see people trying to sell something rather than putting their hand out - anything from drinks to fruits and veges to a lady yesterday swirling her two pieces of strong cotton and offering to remove any facial hairs that might be bothering me!!

 Lanterns light up the area in a spectacular fashion - this bridge has them on either side. Delightful



Crossing the road can be quite an experience - I had read about this in lonely planet, whose advice was to look, then 'just walk'!! They will go around you...I have done this in areas where it's mostly bikes, and - it works!! They do go around - in fact, you're better off to keep walking, I think 'he who hesitates is lost' is applicable in this situation. While we were being driven up to Hoi An, we experienced some Vietnamese road ettiquette - cars come up behind buses, toot, pull out, flash their lights at oncoming traffic, and pass. They allow for  a bit of distance - maybe 3 car lengths - but everyone just merges constantly. The thing is, that on the shoulder of the road where they merge out to, there often are people walking or on bikes, and of course - motorbikes. It was all a bit hairy at times, but - our driver seemed to know how to do it and we got here safe and sound!

'happy buddha?!!'

Today we are just hanging out - it's so nice to be able to do that - just read books, write the blog, etc...

I hope this blog finds you all well - my NZ friends and family - I hope you're keeping warm and snuggling up on the couch with a good book, or at least planning your skiing holiday!!

Isabel

Skiing in Korea

We've enjoyed two fantastic days skiing now, and will be taking off again this coming Friday for our third, and possibly last as the weather is changing!

Our first trip was with the Schumacher family, minus Mum Kylie, a teaching family from GSIS, with one member in my grade 3 class. Jisan resort is very close to Suwon, and is well geared towards learners. Unfortunately it attracts huge numbers of people due to it's proximity to Seoul, Suwon, and the other smaller cities surrounding Seoul.  We enjoyed a half day there, and both found our ski-legs well and truly in good working condition!

 looking downwards towards the resort from the top of the run - not very steep as you can see, but fun nonetheless!

There are some really efficient features at the ski fields here, one of which is the escalators they have for you to go up from the ski rental area and out to the snow - a nice touch. They also have compressed air blowers to rid your skis and boots of snow build up. Seriously. I kid you not. Another nice feature is lockable ski lockers - only need a coin, and you place your skis in and then go off and warm up at the huge brazier or have lunch at the cafe or food hall.

All in all, a nice field if you are a beginner.

This weekend we went to a more challenging field called Konjian Resort - they offer free shuttle bus service from Seoul, with 3 different pick-up sites in Suwon. It turned out to be a bit of a mission to get the pick up sorted, but thanks to help from our lovely secretary Kate, we managed to get booked onto the shuttle and headed down to the pick up point early on Saturday morning. The unassuming spot was very chilly as the day had dawned at about -2 or so, and a slight breeze, and as you will all know, we were there miles too early due to Mike's insistance...So - we were relieved to be picked up at the designated time and in the designated spot. It took about 45 minutes to get there, passing the Jisan resort on the way there. It was quite nice to actually notice landmarks on the way that we recognized!

This field turned out to be a great find for us - the slopes were steeper but not too steep, they would rate as intermediate runs back in NZ which is where we would normally hang out. The runs were about 1 1/2 kms and had a nice range of options. This field also limits how many people can go in a day, and sells tickets for amounts of time. Quite a different way of operating, combined with a credit-card style ski pass which determines whether you can go on the lift or not. You can't argue with the machine - so no slipping onto the lift 10 minutes before 10am when our timer started!

Saturday was significantly cooler than the previous day's skiing, and we had to stay rugged up as you can see. The lifts were aptly named - lift number one was 'GALE' and it's neighbour 'WINDY'!!! It was rather cool up on the lift, and certain spots certainly did offer up a cooling breeze, but overall the day stayed clear and calm, and we had a fantastic time - managing 20 runs on the 'expert' slopes.

 This shot was taken at the halfway point on the run - not too many people there, and we frequently just skied down and straight onto the lift...

 The resort is quite spectacular - all fairly recently built too. Along with these ski slopes which are 'man-made' they have a spa, wine cave, conference facilities, aboretum, swimming pool and sauna etc etc. They had an interesting ice sculpture area too, and we enjoyed wandering around the stream and garden area while we waited for the bus.

Next Friday we are off on a trip to a field closer to the east coast with the seniors at school. We will have to stay the night, but it looks amazing on the website. This might be more of a mountain field - similar to what we are used to back home!

It's been wonderful -  I have enjoyed skiing and have managed to get more in this year than my usual one-trip-per-year!!

Thailand adventures

We are back safe and sound after a wonderful week on our 'VASE' mission trip to Thailand. We had a great team who gelled well together and who we were so pleased to watch as they evolved into an amazing bunch of teen missionaries!

The first part of our trip was spent in the Nakhor Pathom area where we stayed in a church and then did some flood relief work at a small rural church nearby.  The church had been amazingly supportive to their community - they housed about 200 or so people feeding them 3 meals a day during the flooding. The water took 2 months to subside, and in fact is still there in some parts as it is so flat.

After our day working in this area, we were taken to 'Phetchaburi' where we ran an 'English Camp' which had a Bible theme. We had 29 Thai students come and join us for 2 1/2 days, and our kids lead activities and helped them to improve their English language skills. It was great to see the GSIS students become close friends with the Thai students so quickly, and the camp was a great success. The kids didn't want it to end, and there were many tearful goodbyes!

The language barriers came down pretty quickly, and the Thai kids had a chance to practice their English with English-speaking bi- or sometimes tri-lingual peers. A recipe for success!  The venue was a Catholic retreat camp which looks well used, and has great facilities. The bedrooms were fairly rudimentary with just mats to sleep on, but they were air-conditioned, which allowed all of us to sleep well. The temperatures were in the 30's most days, with mild humidity, so it was hot at times, but pleasantly so. The mosquitoes were annoying, and managed to find me no matter how much bug spray I had on!
The final day was spent tidying up, having farewells, then visiting a cultural centre called 'The Rose Garden' where we bought a few souvenirs and saw a show, then a visit to a shopping mall to eat and buy gifts etc before heading to the airport. It was enough to satisfy those of us who like to shop, and those who just enjoyed being back in the city before having to go home again.

The highlight of the Friday excursion would have to be the elephant ride at the 'Rose Garden' - one to tick off the bucket list!!!

Thailand here we come

We are less than 24 hours away from our next big adventure - helping lead a VASE trip to Thailand. VASE meaning - Vision, Action, Service, Evangelism. We have 13 middle and high school students and 4 adults on our trip and we leave early tomorrow morning, arriving in Bangkok in the morning. The first part of our trip will involve some hands-on work, possibly painting, in response to the flooding that happened around December. The second part of the trip is to lead an English Camp - middle school students from a Christian school will be attending, and we take a two-pronged approach - partly we evangelise and partly we teach English.
This is new territory for Mike and I in many ways - not only have we not been to Thailand, but we have not been on a short-term mission trip either. Nor have we had very much to do with middle or high school students - so it is excitement tinged with a little bit of nervous tension as we spend today relaxing in preparation for the 5 days ahead. It will be over too soon, I"m sure!!

We have had a busy 2 weeks back at school, both of us straight into our units of inquiry for this quarter and our kids getting straight into their learning again. Mike has 'exhibition' coming up - a very big deal for grade 5, and something that is going to take over his life for the next 2 months while they get their personal action projects underway. All part of the culmination of the "PYP' programme under the IB banner, a way of finishing elementary school and drawing together the threads of their learning into some form of social or community action in response to an issue they feel strongly about.

My class are studying the Human Body, currently looking at the skeletal and muscular systems. Great fun so far - they've made model skeletons and have undone owl pellets to discover animal bones inside etc etc etc. Great fun!

The last 2 weeks have gone really fast, but it seems ages since we were back in NZ with our families having Christmas and New Year with them. This week is Lunar New Year, so we are being wished 'happy new year' all over again! We were taken out to dinner on Friday night to a restaurant owned by some parents of children in our classes, where we were wined and dined to the extreme. The food just kept on coming,and we both felt so full - too full - but it was delicious!! The restaurant was called 'Bonsuwon Galbi' - Galbi is the local delicacy - seasoned beef BBQ with many different side dishes. Stunning food!!

Here's a few links to explain a bit about where we are going to in Thailand, and our VASE trip link.

I hope this post finds you all well - don't forget to drop us a comment!! It makes us realise that people are reading the posts and helps us to keep in touch :):)

flooding

This is where we are being taken on Friday after we are all finished...
Rose Garden tour

Christmas Holidays 2011

We have had a wonderful time back in New Zealand with family and friends, and are refreshed and ready to return to Korea. It's amazing how quickly 3 weeks can disappear, but it won't be long till the next break. Our next adventure is only a few weeks away, when we take a team of teenagers to Thailand on a missions trip - a very, very big step of faith for us who have never done anything remotely like that before, but with 4 adults and 14 great teens, I'm sure it will be fine.  Really. Well. Hopeful.!!!

Christmas holidays for us this year began at Ngatiawa, sharing the time and place that our son and daughter in law call home. This place is very special, and you find yourself relaxed and refreshed after spending time there - truly wonderful. Find out more on their website here.

The second part of our holiday was back down south to where we have spent most of our lives thus far - and time spent with family and friends catching up made it feel like the 6 months we have been away were merely a small droplet in a bucket. It is so nice to have relationships like that where we simply pick up where we left off.

It's time to head back to Korea and continue on with our work, our contractual obligations, but also new adventures. Exciting times ahead!