It's been over a year since I posted anything here it seems.  It must be because I've been so busy thinking about, and planning for, what we're calling 'Bike Back Home' - a 15,000km cycle from South Korea to Ireland.  We're going home after four years of living in Korea, and we leave tomorrow!

It's going to take us somewhere between 7 and 9 months to do, all going well, so it will probably be another year before I post anything else here again! In the meantime, we (Nick and I) will be posting on our biking blog at Bike Back Home as often as we can for anyone that's interested in our journey home the long way!

Everyone needs some Kefir in their life!

If you’re not sure what I’m on about, kefir is a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains, which are a bacteria-yeast symbiosis that looks a little like slimey cauliflower! It digests the sugars in milk to form a sour tasting, thin, yogurt-like drink rich in probiotics.

Milk Kefir Grains

We’ve had kefir grains for a while now and they take some looking after, much like any living thing really! We call ours Kevin! Kevin the Kefir and ‘he’ is as much a pet as we’re ever going to have while living in South Korea.

We are now officially cycle tourists!

We’ve recently bought ourselves brand new touring bikes and we’re absolutely delighted with ourselves!  Why did we need new bikes when we already have two each I hear you say? Well, strictly speaking, we probably didn’t but I suppose it could be traced back to the summer of 2012.  We were living in Daejeon (South Korea) and we only had one week to take for our summer holidays.  Not wanting to lose too much of that time spent in airports etc. we decided we’d stay in Korea and that we’d go to Jeju Island with our bikes.

The bikes we had at the time were far from touring bikes.  We got them free when we signed up to a smart phone contract when we first arrived in Korea,  but we weren’t put off! We didn’t have panniers or anything like that and to be honest, I’m not sure if they even crossed our minds.  We just put what we thought we’d need into our rucksacks and off we went!

Our free bikes, plus 5kg of rice and 30 toilet rolls! What else would you expect when signing a new phone contract!!

The 22nd of October was quite a while ago.  A very long time ago, especially in blogging terms.  I have no real excuse for the silence, a few reasons but no real excuse.  Sometimes it's hard to find the inspiration to write, especially when you think nothing all that noteworthy has happened.  Little things get in the way, and after a few weeks I seem to forget that I actually like writing and that updating my blog isn't a chore, it's something I enjoy doing.

Anyway since the last time I posted, here's what I've been up to in a nutshell:

On November 3rd Nick, four other friends and I, competed in a Spartan Race in Seoul.  An obstacle course not known for its ease, I was quite happy to complete the course, albeit with a penalty of 90 burpees due to three failed obstacles!  Apart from Nick who had to do none, we all had to do 90 which provided a nice amount of solidarity on the day!

Pre-race wanna be Spartans!

Back to work, back to reality!

Or a reality of sorts anyway!  My timetable has changed slightly this semester, same number of hours but now I have Mondays off instead of Fridays and I've taken on a few extra hours on Saturday mornings as well to help with the savings.  Still though, a fairly nice reality to come back to after what was a great nine weeks off!

Summer time and the livin's easy..

...Or so the song goes anyway.  One of the first things I promised myself when I started this new job, teaching English to college students, last March was that I wouldn't fall into the trap that so many others seem to.  I would not complain.  I work a mere 14 hours a week and I have three day weekends every week.  I also get 20 weeks holidays a year.  The job is not stressful and complaining about it to other foreigners living in Korea who are not as fortunate job-wise as me, and who work much longer hours both daily and weekly,

A Few Days in Osaka

Japan, or at least the small part of it that I was in, was very different to what I was expecting.  I'd been told from a friend that used to live there that it'd all seem very similar to Korea, and maybe because of that, I was astonished at the differences, which to me seemed infinite and everywhere.

DMZ: Demilitarized Zone or Domestic Money (Making) Zoo

Hyejeon College turned 30 on the 30th April, a while ago now I admit, and we all got a day off to celebrate.  The college held a ceremony, the students drank soju and Nick and I went to the DMZ!

We'd been meaning to go for ages.  It's one of those places you feel you need to see while you're in Korea and an unexpected mid-week day off seemed as good an opportunity as any to go and check it out.

Coming of Age

The number of 'National Days' in Korea for this, that and the other never ceases to amuse me.  They seem to start with Valentine's Day, a 'holiday' we're all used to.  Although here, it's a day for the boys unlike at home where it's predominately a day for the girls.

Next, comes 'White Day' which is the same as Valentine's Day only it's one month later and it's a day for the boys to be spoilt by their other halves.  Same date, another month on, is 'Black Day' which is, from what I can gather, a bit of a depressing day for singletons when they are supposed to eat black noodles to highlight their single status!

A Week Off to Procrastinate?

Last week at work was review week. A nice handy week, spent going back over things I'd already covered, answering questions from panicked students about the content and difficulty of the impending mid-term exam and then breezing out the door at lunch time on Thursday, not having to be back in until next Thursday, when they'll be sitting my exam.  I was expecting to be bribed with a tonne of presents from my students, in exchange for the promise of a good grade, but presents were disappointingly lacking.  All I got was an orange!

Sick and Tired of the News

The daily post is a blog that runs a weekly photo challange that I've been meaning to get involved in for some time.  Whether the fact that they're wordpress born and bred and I'm on blogger is an issue or not, remains to be seen!  Anyway, this week the theme of the photo challenge is 'Colour' only they spelt it 'Color' but I won't hold that against them!

This week for me has been both colourful and colourless all in one go.  I've had a chest infection (green) and as a result I've had no voice for most of the week making my speech, and more noticeably my classes, colourless.  However, the frustration at not being about to communicate effectively has made my thoughts extremely colourful, in a way that was perhaps better left inside and unspoken, at least for the sake of my students!!

But, had I not been sick, and had I been able to be out and about, and if by some small miracle I'd been able to take photos of what I'd wanted, this week my entry to the Weekly Photo Challenge would've been of the vividly colourful, bolshy rhetoric being spouted by the man-of-the-moment up North, Mr Kim Jong-Un! 

Now that I think of it, that could be why I've been sick.  Sick of Kim Jong-Un and his bellicose nonsense but even more sick and tired of the world's media and their sensationalist portrayal of life on the Korea peninsula in a desperate attempt to sell more newspapers, with little or no regard for the truth.

Two more gifts and a postcard from home!

Today I got too more gifts from my students, an iced white coffee and a freshly baked baguette, which I've added to my 'A List' tab.  The coffee arrived just before class and just as I had been debating whether or not to go and get one to perk me up a little....no need!  The baguette came later, before the start of my second (and last) class of the day, and sat on my desk teasing me for the rest of the class.  As soon as the class was over and I was safely behind closed doors again, I devoured it!

This evening I went in search of some other waygooks in this little town.  I'd gotten wind of a book club that was due to meet tonight so I took myself off to that.  Everyone was very friendly, we made plans to meet once a month but the best part of the evening was this coffee....

Such a cute little bear!

Then, too top it all off, there was a postcard from home in my postbox when I got back, which means that I successfully translated my address from Korean into English!

Successfully received postcard, unsuccessfully uploaded and hence on its side!

All in all...not a bad Tuesday, and only three more classes to go until the weekend....I definitely have one of the world's best jobs!

It's been a while!

August 12th, 2012??!  I knew it'd been a while since I last posted anything, but I didn't think it had been that long!

I suppose a brief synopsis of what's been going on since then is what's called for....

I did get Laser Eye Surgery. LASEK to be exact.  It was massively painful at the time but I can see perfectly now, and have been able to for months and I'm told my eyes are in excellent health.  Success.  Money very well spent.  Delighted.

The last shot of me wearing glasses! T minus 30mins to surgery!

Post surgery! Trying to put on a brave face and pretend it didn't hurt too much!

Next, winter came to Daejeon but not before Nick entered a Chinese Dragon Boat race on the local stretch of river and won, I went to Seoul for a Hen Party, and we both went to Busan for a wedding.  When it did come though, winter came in a suit, ready for business.  Temperatures plummeted and the lovely warm weather of Autumn quickly became a thing of the past BUT I can't say we minded too much because at this stage we, Nick and I, were on the count down to Christmas at home!

Nick, the rest of the team, and 1,000,000 won prize money!

Snowy walk to work

Outside our old apartment in Wolpyeong

Finished work on Friday evening and came outside to this!

The local park of an afternoon!

We headed off from Daejeon on the 22nd of December, clad in matching Christmas outfits (which blended in nicely in Korea, not so nicely in London or Dublin!), leaving our apartment and our jobs to two of our friends to take over.  This made the packing process somewhat easier, knowing that anything we wanted to leave behind would be safe in our now old, apartment, awaiting our return!  After something awful like 36hrs on the move, we landed in Dublin, where it was 30degrees warmer than it had been in Seoul!  From -15 to +15 just like that!

Incheon Airport wearing matching Christmas couple outfits, and under Steff Hotdog to boot!

There really is nowhere like home, and no more so than at Christmas time.  It absolutely flew by and now seems like a distant memory, dominated by oodles of rich food and washed down with plenty of festive gargle.  Great fun altogether but it really highlighted the badness of our diets back home.  Food that was too rich, too processed or too sugary when I first got home soon became normal again, not that it stopped me from wolfing it all down and having a grand ol time for myself!

The over-eating induced lull after Christmas Dinner!

 
I spent a total of 9 weeks at home, and nick was there for 10.  In that time, we went to a friend's wedding in Roscommon, we visited relations and friends in the west of Ireland, we acted as beaters on a woodcock shoot, we ate a very fancy dinner post-shoot in Markree Castle, and we caught up with as many friends and family as possible.  At the same time, I was on the look out for a job back in Korea, starting about the 1st of March, and Nick was furiously studying for the Oral Defence of his Ph.D.

Kathy & Kev's Wedding on New Years Eve in Roscommon

Family Fun in Kilmuckridge. All ten adults and 5 children worth of us!

Stunning, bleak, Connemara scenery

The woodcock shoot we were beaters on.  Gas day out! Unfortunately there wasn't enough tweed to go around!

 

Very fancy post-shoot dinner at Markree Castle

After much job hunting, and much study, we were both successful!  I got a job and Nick got his Ph.D! Delighted, the pair of us were!


Week three in my new job is almost drawing to a close now.  I'm teaching conversational English to college students in Hyejeon College, just outside of Hongseong in Chungcheongnam.  It's a small enough college about an hour outside of Daejeon, tucked away in a quiet little mountain town.  The college has provided me with a nice apartment just off the campus, as well as a huge office on campus, next to my classroom.  They did however mis-spell my name as 'Step' on the door of my office which means I'm probably going to be Step from here on in!  However, I only work a trying 14hours a week, and I have every Friday off.  Each of the two terms in the college year are 16 weeks long,  and the rest is holidays, paid holidays at that. 

Hard to make out but this is my office door and it says 'Step Ruth Russell'!

'Knock knock, open wide, let's see what's on the other side'!

The view over campus from my office window!

The last few weeks I've been wandering around, pinching myself, wondering how in god's name I ended up here, with this ridiculous job, where I have tonnes of free time, loads of holidays and all the while earning a salary decent enough that I can put some money away for a rainy day!

And that folks, in a nutshell, is it. The past 7 months, crammed into one little blog post!

Whats it gonna be then, eh?

Where am I now? Well, right now, I’m in my bedroom, sitting at my desk, and shock horror, on my laptop!  But, more metaphorically, I’m in the throes of booking corrective laser eye surgery.  Or more accurately, I have booked surgery but I’m not sure I’ve done the right thing.  

There are a few simple facts and they go like this:  

My vision is pretty awful without glasses or contact lenses, which I have worn everyday since I was thirteen years old.  

I’ve wanted to get laser done for some time now.  

Its less than half the price here, in South Korea, than at home, in Ireland.  

However, unlike at home, the clinics here let you choose which kind of laser surgery to have, LASEK or LASIK.  But who the hell am I to choose?  What do I know about it?  What are the doctors for if not to advise? Because I am a suitable candidate for both, due to the health of my eyes and the thickness of my corneas, I have been told with much Korean enthusiasm, by more than one doctor, that I get to pick the procedure I want.  Lucky me!

So will it be the painfree, quick recovery of vision (24hrs to one week) but the slightly increased risk of side effects with LASIK or a substantial amount of pain, a slow recovery of vision (one week to six months) but a decreased risk of complications with LASEK.

Maybe I should just stick to my contact lenses for a while longer!

Gyeryongsan Mountain

I don't feel any fitter after our cycling trip around Jeju, but I suppose I must be, at least a little bit. Regardless or whether I am or not though, I was determined to use it as the kickstart I needed to get into a solid exercise regime, so last weekend Nick and I thought we'd cycle to Gyeryongsan, climb it, and cycle home!

It was lovely.  The cycle there was a little over 13 kilometers.  A good 6k at the start was all along the cycle track on the banks of the Gapcheon river, the river that Daejeon is built on, then there was a nasty 2-3k stretch along a fast moving dual carraigeway, followed by 4ish kilometer stretch along lovely country roads and lanes.

Gapcheon Cycle Track Section

Nasty, Fast Moving Section along the Dual Carraigeway

Nice Back Road Section

We didn't get up particularly early so when we got to the foot of the mountain it was about half twelve.  Gyeryongsan National Park, which translates as Rooster Head Mountain, is famous for two things: the cherry blossoms in spring; and a meal of makgeolli (unstrained milky-looking rice wine) and pajeon ( a cross between a crepe and an omlette, usually with seafood and scallions through it) after your hike.  However, it being lunch time when we arrived, we thought we'd tuck in before the hike.

Locals Taking Advantage of the Shady Mountain Stream

The hike itself is about 9km, passing two temples and a waterfall, and reaching two peaks.  The first temple you pass, is Donghak-sa, which is the most famous one in the national park, and as far as I'm aware it's just for nuns.  Then its on up past the waterfall, Eunseon Pokpo, which is pretty unimpressive at the moment given the lack of rain we've had this monsoon season.  From the waterfall, the trail starts getting noticeably steeper, and remains so, until you come to Gwaneumbong Peak (816m).

Donghak-sa Temple

Simple Simon on the Way Up!

The Top!

We didn't delay too long at the top, being out in the sunshine wasn't ideal so we carried on across the ridge, until we got to Sambulbong (775m).  We had a brief sos there before starting the just-as-steep decent, passing Nammaetap, another temple, on the way down.

The View from the Top.
You can just about make out the concrete jungle that is Deajeon in the background

Me Acting the Monkey Along the Ridge!

Nammaetap Temple

I have to say I was pretty shattered when we got to the bottom, and needed a bit of a break before getting on my bike for the cycle home.  But then, once I was actually on it, it was grand, all those kilometers around Jeju have paid off after all! In fact, we both enjoyed it so much, we did it all over again yesterday!  This time though, we set off nice and early and were back down to enjoy Pajeon and Dongdongju (a cousin of Magkeolli) in the early afternoon.  Much better doing it this way around!

Local Mayhem in the Stream again this Weekend!

A Much Deserved Feast of Pajeon, Dongdongju and lots of Banchan (sidedishes)

Around Jeju with a Bike

When our alarm went off at 7 on Monday morning, it signaled the start of a week of early morning wake up calls, but I didn't know that then, and I happily got out bed to get to the port in time for our 9am ferry to Jeju-do.  Our ferry tickets had a room number on them.  Surely a €20 ticket doesn't entitle you to a room, does it?  It did, just not a private room.  All passengers are allocated a room.  One half of both decks was divided up into square rooms about 5mx5m.  There was nothing in these rooms, you just kick your shoes off at the entrance, and claim your space. Much better than the rush for the 'good seats' on an Irish Ferries crossing to Holyhead!  There was a real holiday vibe to the ferry, everyone cracking into cans of cass and bottles of soju, and it only half nine in the morning.  The Koreans really are a pack of loopers!

Our Itinery

About to cycle off the back of the ferry with all the cars, having just arrived on Jeju-do.

When we got to Jeju-si, we didn't walk off with the rest of the foot passengers, oh no...we got to cycle off the back of the ferry with all the cars, brilliant!  We pulled in around the corner from the port to check our tyres and lather ourselves in sun-cream before heading off on our clockwise circumvention of Korea's much talked about 'Hawaii of Asia'.

The heat that first day, Monday, was stifling.  The ferry had docked at 1:30 so granted it was the hottest part of the day to be moving about in, but it was that or stay in the port town for the night and we were both pretty keen to get on the road.

We had decided to switch off our phones altogether for the duration of the holiday.  No email, no texts, no facebook, no googling, nothing except the necessary GPS!  It was lovely to feel so free and uncontactable for a change.

The first 10 kilometers that day was on a main road but we soon found the coast road, thank you google maps, and thats when it all really began. After a fair few hours in the saddle we came to a beach called Woljeong Beach.  A bar out the front of what seemed like a hippie commune (is that even possible in Korea?) lured us in.  After a couple of ice cold beers it was fairly clear we were going nowhere, and there we stayed.

Woljeong Beach

A Hippie Commune, Korean Style!

Day 2 and we were on the road by 7:30 to try and avoid the heat.  The first hour or so took us through some pretty Irish looking landscapes.  We were heading for Ilchulbong, an extinct volcano, right out on the far eastern coast, from which the views were meant to be spectactular.   A little local shop provided us with all the necessities...water, Pocari Sweat ( an isotonic drink with a great name!), stronger suncream, nuts, oranges...and some old chap, after hearing we were Irish, did a Robbie Keane impression for us, what more could you want! 

Irish Style Landscapes

The shop where we stocked up before climbing the volcano, and got free Jeju Mandarins for our troubles!

The crater peaking out over the cloud in the distance

The view from the top of Ilchulbong

The view from the volcano was every bit as good as expected, once I'd wiped the sweat out of my eyes and could actually see it!  However, in true Korean style, the attraction has been fully expolited.  There must have been over a dozen coaches and god knows how many cars in the car park.  In front of the ticket office was a Dunkin' Donuts, an Angel-in-Us (one of the many coffee shop chains abundant in Korea), a 7-11, and 4 or 5 other shops selling general tourist tat!  Still though, I shouldn't complain, we took full advantage of Dunkin' Donuts and their Arctic air conditioning when we got back down!

Do I really have to get back on my bike??!

Back onto the bikes once more, with the aim of getting to a beach about 6km (Sinyang Beach) away and resting there, in the shade, until the day started to cool down somewhat.  The beach was not the nicest, and the thought of spending 4 or 5 hours on it did't really appeal...so on we went.  But the coastline changed from sandy to rocky as we cycled on and on through the mid day heat, again.  At about 3 o clock, I couldn't go any further.  I needed food and rest and shade.  We found a family mart (a convenience store a lot like our Spar's, an 'all you need, when you need it' type of shop!), downed nearly 2litres of Pocari Sweat each and devoured a bunch of bananas.  I knew we couldnt stay there though, there was nothing there, so after consulting Google's satellite image of the area, we got back on our bikes and slowly cycled another 10k to a beach town called Pyoseon.  It was gorgoeous.  And it was only half four, but we were most definitely done cycling for the day.

Cycling through the mid day heat, for the second day running, might not have been our brightest move but we did get to see a sinking tanker!  It'd run aground just off the coast, at a lighthouse ironically.  A definite highlight of the day!

Mayday Mayday!!

When the alarm went off the next morning at a bright and early 6am, I was not feeling too spritely but after a quick breakfast of banana, yogurt and Pocari I was ready to go again.  If nothing else, the smell of our cycling kit was enough to knock the sleep right out of us! Our aim for the morning was to get to Seogwipo, the second city of the island, on the south coast, almost exactly half way around Jeju.  We passed a sign that said it was 31km and we were ticking along at a great pace so we thought we'd be there about half ten, but then we passed a signpost that siad we had 41km to go.  It was getting hotter and I was getting tired but we continued on, sticking to the coast road as much as we could.  Arguably too much though because at one stage we ended up in a forest.  We went through it for a while, but after passing some of the biggest spider webs I've ever seen, I couldn't hack it anymore, and we turned around.  It was after 12 when we did get to Seogwipo, exhausted.

We collapsed on a bench, in the shade, outside a toilet block, in the carpark of  a Korean style commercialised waterfall!  I fell asleep within minutes.  Then we went to Dunkin Donuts, their air conditioning really is second to none, before hitting up some local restaurant for a much need fill of real food in the form of a bimimbap (rice with vegetables and an egg).  It was our first proper meal since Saturday and it was amazing!  I stupidly thought that if we paid into the waterfall, we'd find a patch of shady grass where we could lie down and rest until it was time to get going again.  But of course, as is the way here, the way to the waterfall was paved and there was no detouring from it, no bit of grass, so back to a coffee shop with us for more a/c!

We camped that night, not because we wanted to, but because after a particularly hilly afternoon cycle we arrived to a beach called Jungmum, where the only accomodation was in the form of a big swanky looking hotel.  In with the pair of us to the sea for a swim straight away and my god, was it nice.  I don't know how well I slept that night 'cause the next day I was feeling pretty ropey. It was probably a combination of exhaustion and slight dehydration, combined with the heat. Whatever it was, it had me knocked for six, and we spent most of the afternoon lying down in a Buddist Temple!

The Campsite at Dawn

Jungmum Beach

Passed Out in the Temple

Friday Morning we got to a beach called Hyeopjae, a gorgeous white sandy beach with crystal clear waters.  We also found a gazebo type thing on the grass just off the back of the beach where I promptly fell asleep.  Until that was, some chap with a bit of clout, told us it was 'premium place' and that if we wanted to stay there we'd have to pay him 50,000won (€35) so we left, totally disgruntled!  However, just around the corner was an equally nice beach, where we sought the comfort of yet another air conditioned cafe.  At 6, once it had started to noticeable cool down, we saddled up again to get to Gwakji Beach, about 10k further around the coast.  This was to be our last stop before getting the ferry back to the mainland, and what a stop it was too!

The 'Premium Place' Grass at Hyeopjae Beach

A Very Welcome Beach Bar on Gwakji Beach

Sunset at Gwakji Beach

The beach was long, with pure white sand, and crystal clear water but nowhere near as crowded as the beach we'd just left behind.  There was such a holiday buzz to the place.  There was even a beach bar, the likes of which you'd expect to find in Thailand (and wouldn't dare to dream of finding in Korea!), and it served real drinks, none of this cass beer and soju rubbish!!  Originally we'd thought we'd stay in Jeju-si, the capital city, the night before our ferry but once we got to Gwakji we weren't going anywhere.  An early morning dash of the last 30k to the ferry it would have to be!  Plus that means we were about to have a day with absolutely no cycling, the excitement of it was almost too much!!  A whole day to read, nap, swim, eat, play....holidays are the business!

We erred on the side of caution when planning how long we'd need to get to the ferry.  We were on our bikes by 7am and at the ferry for 9.  It wasn't sailing til 12.  Tonnes of time for a bibimbap and a dose of olypmics!

Boarding the Ferry to Wan-do

From Wan-do, the ferry port on the mainland, we got a bus to Boseong to check out the Green Tea Plantations we'd heard so much about.  On the cycle up to the fields though Nick's bike broke. The spiky thing at the back that the chain runs over decided to implode on itself, sending little ball bearings scattering all over the place!  We walked the rest of the way there and I towed him most of the way back to the motel afterwards.  The plantations were pretty impressive, if somewhat ruined by the big museum plonked in the middle of them, but it is Korea after all, and what else would you expect?  Anyway, green fields are nice to look at but after you've taken the mandatory photo or two there's not much else to do so we went back to the motel and watched the olympics for the rest of the day.

The Green Tea Plantations of Boseong

And that was that.  The next day we got a bus back to Daejeon and our holidays were over!  As I said in my previous post, I've never cycled any kind of distances like that before, but I have to say it was really great, once I got over the initial saddle soreness!  I can only imagine it might not be too long 'til we go on another cycle tour somewhere, but this time with padded shorts!