Maria and Dave's Visit

Well, we were sad to say goodbye to Maria and Dave, but it sure was nice to have them visit us. They saw a ton of Korea and I think they now have a good feeling for what it's like here and what our life is like. They seemed to have a great time.

We picked them up Friday 10/12 at the airport in Incheon around 7 PM or so. They seemed to have fared quite well on the flight. By the time we got back home around 9 or so, they went to bed and were up before us the next morning ready to go. They didn't seem fazed by the jetlag at all. We were impressed. So, for the weekend, we toured around with them on the subway and up to Seoul. Saturday, we toured up Insadong, walked the Cheongycheon Stream in downtown, visited City Hall, Namdaemun Market and back to Samsung Plaza for dinner.

The rest of the week-

Sunday- we walked around our neighborhood and went up to Central Park for a nice walk.

Monday- Maria and Dave went up to to the Gyeongbukgung Palace in downtown Seoul while we went to work. That night we ate Korean BBQ.

Tuesday- Maria and Dave visited work with us and then traveled up to Olympic Park.

Wednesday- we hosted 15 friends over for dinner with the Olsons. We had some tasty pasta along with Jen's white chocolate cheesecake.

Thursday- we met Maria and Dave at Samsung Plaza for takalbi dinner. BBQ chicken, veggies, rice and cheese. Very tasty!

Friday- Jen and I had a conference on Yongsan Army Base and met Maria and Dave afterwards to visit Seoul Tower for sunset. Amazing!

Saturday- up early for the DMZ trip followed by a run to Seoul Station for the bullet train to Busan.

Sunday- walk on the beach, fish market, lighthouse and park, Piff square, and Myeongchong.

Monday- boardwalk, beach, and bridge. Back to Seoul.

Below are some pictures of their visit. I know they have more and would share if you ask.

This is an awning at a nearby park called Central Park.





















Beautiful park nearby Samsung plaza.

















This is Namdaemun gate in Seoul city center.





















Here is City Hall. Everytime we've been up, there has been a festival.
















Crossing the Cheongycheon stream in downtown.
















Maria, Jen and Dave checking out the wares in Insad0ng.
















Amazing view up top of Seoul Tower of the Han River. We had never been, so this was a great opportunity.















Night city scape.
















We shared our new favorite Korean food, takalbi. It's chicken BBQ with veggies. After you eat about 3/4 of the chicken, they bring out rice and cheese to mix up. Of course, it's cooked right in the middle of the table.
















Riding the subway home. Maria got to experience the sleepers that just pass out on your shoulder.





















At the DMZ, the day was clear so you could see the North Korean flag quite well.





















Dave checking out the border of the DMZ. Across from him is the North Korean side.





















A North Korean soldier up close. There was a North Korean tour group there just before us.




















Inside the negotiation room, you can see the South Korean soldier inside and outside you can just make out the profile of a North soldier back-to-back. In a minute, the North soldiers marched off with their famous high leg kick.





















Guarding their posts.




















Beautiful view of Busan from Haeundae Beach.


































Artsy bark picture by Jen.





















Fisherman.




















The beach we stayed at.















Another beach area.
















Jen is chasing Maria with a go-kart.
















Maria and Dave out at a lighthouse.
















A school of fish in the ocean right off the giant fish market.















Seemingly endless miles of fish.




















Family shot in our home.















Subway portraits.
















































Parting shot from Busan!

Cork's visit

We had a terrific relaxing time with Cork over this past weekend. He really got to see exactly what our typical weekend would be like. Saturday morning, we woke up around 9 and just hung out having coffee and bagels. We went down to the Sauna for about 3 hours and had lunch of kimchi soup. Cork loved the Sauna. I think everyone should have a Korean sauna experience. It's difficult to not like. After the Sauna, we walked around the neighborhood up into the hills a bit and then back down to Emart for some food shopping. We cooked a nice Indian meal and afterwards went to a birthday party for 3 of our friends with recent birthdays. Cork got to meet lots of our friends and he was a big hit. Everyone loved talking to Cork. This morning, we got up a little later and talked to Mom and Dad on the phone and later on Kevin, too. We tried Annie a few times but unfortunately missed her. In the afternoon, we subwayed up to Olympic Park and walked around for a bit. The weather was a bit stormy but reminded us of Seattle. We came back home and found a great sushi joint just in our building. After dinner, we found an excellent gelato shop. Cork got chocolate. Jen got pomegranite and lemon. And I got chocolate and white chocolate. Yum! Mom, you'll love this place. Then, we came home and watched some TV and went to bed. What a great and relaxing weekend. It was a treat to have Cork with us, too. He must be the most low-maintenance traveler ever. That is a compliment!

Here's a few pics from today-


Jen and Cork on the subway.

















Cork and I in front of the Olympic flame under the big arch.






















There was some sort of festival going on.
















Here's the mainstage. Funny thing...it's a mariachi band from Mexico.

















Jen and I in between an art exhibit.
















In 5 days, the Olsons will be here! Can't wait. What a great month!

Fantastic Philippines

Our first vacation of the year to the Philippines was fantastic. We enjoyed 10 days of travel that took us from Manila to Cebu to Bantayan Island to Malapascua Island and back. We felt like we saw quite a lot during our trip and enjoyed the experience very much.

Manila -Fri, Sat and Sun- we liked Manila a lot more more than we were thought we would. Everyone warned us to be aware, and we were, but we saw Manila as a place very much full of life.

This is our hotel in the Malate neighborhood. Notice the Starbucks out front. We smuggled some beans back to Korea, where they cost 4x the price!

The courtyard where we stayed.

































This view is looking down the street of our hotel. Can you spot the Jeepney?


































This is Rizal Park. Quite a nice urban park. The park is named after Dr. Jose Rizal, a martyr against the Spanish rule. He was excecuted by the Spanish in 1896 in this park. The flag and monument marks the spot.

































Rizal Park promenade


























Rizal Park

Sheeesh...I can't remember who this statue is...what a bad tourist.


























"Hmm...where on earth are we? Better consult the map." Check out the rad Jeepney behind me!































You can barely make out the writing but it says "Intramuros." This is the entrance to the old walled fortress from colonial times.

























This picture is for Dave Olson. It's the KC's! You can just barely read the sign. It looks like they have a big chapter in Manila.




























This is a really neat old chuch in Intramuros. They had a museum in the cloister that was well worth the time and the 25 cent entry fee.
































This is Manila Cathedral.
































This is the courtyard we ate lunch in nearby the churches.





























There is a golf course between Rizal Park and Intramuros. It looked quite nice.



















Bantayan Island- Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed

Sunday morning we flew to Cebu and met up with Jess and Hugo to travel up to Bantayan Island. We rented a van and driver to drive us up to the boat. The ride was about 2:30 hours. The boat ride was about an hour. The hotel picked us up in a little bicycle rickshaw contraption and within minutes we were on the beach.


Jen took these next two shots from the bicycle rickshaw.
























































We stayed at Budyong Beach.
























This was the first view. "Yeah, I guess we'll stay."

























Sunset, a few fishermen pulling in their boat.


















































Sweetheart

























View from our room

























The view first thing in the morning from our room


























Enjoying a meal at the best place on the island.



























Shadows of plams from our place.

















































That's out hut. It was basic but just what we needed.
























One last view of the beach at Bantayan.




















Malapascua Island - Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat

We took a pumpboat (see pic below) about 2 hours from Bantayan to Malapascua. We waited for a small storm to pass in the morning before going out. It was a smooth ride, thank God. We were to meet two other friends there, Jason and Kristi. Funny thing is that we could see them from the boat on our way in. Who else has red hair in the Philippines?!

We stayed at Cocobana. Our cottage wasn't quite as "on-the-beach" as the other but was still very close. There was a little bit of snorkeling right out front here.
































This island was really neat because there are no cars, only these sandy paths. We were able to walk around most of the island.























































































One night, we went out to this German pub. From left to right - me, Jess, Kristi, Jason, and Hugo.


























"Whatever shall we chose for dinner? You are in charge, sweeheart."































Jason getting fired up about something. Hugo showed me how take these crazy pics with the camera. It's a pretty cool effect.

































On a walk on the island. At one point we couldn't get past all the little fishing boats.

































Sweetheart on the beach. This part of the beach wasn't as clean as the others. Still charming though.

































A parting shot on Malapascua Island to you wherever you are in the world.

Saturday morning, we left on another pumpboat (rough ride...yikes! but no one got sick) back to Cebu Island and then a 3 hour van ride to Cebu City. Once we got to Cebu City we parted ways with our traveling companions and had one last night before our marathon trip back to Seoul.



So, up next, Cork is coming to visit this weekend. Should be great to see him.



Dave and Maria come the following week. We are working on an itinerary for them but we know for sure we will do a DMZ tour and travel down to Busan for 2 nights.



Lot's of love to everyone!



Brian and Jen