Last weekend Ansan pulled one out of the bag and held the Ansan I nternational buskers Festival. With the sun beaming down and maing it uncomfortable we hit the streets bottles of wine, crakcers and cheese in hand in search of some fun lovin carnies to laugh with and at. We found our first merry bunch of small handed circus folk. They were from France and were a combination of music, acrobats and singing, not to mention a little nudity thrown in for good measure. The highlight however was a tubby nude man rolling over his mates playing what could only be described as an upsidedown fry pan (there you are wokhead). We moved along the street to watch some chinese acrobats with a top notch fella speaing the perfect combination of English and Korean with a Chinese accent....perfect...But his actors were sublime. A dragon personified as a dog was being toyed with jumping around and generally scaring small children. It was done very very well with so much precision put into the movements that I had to shake my red wine fuelled stooper to understand the reality. But not to be outdone a girl produced some contortion which short of snapping her spine was unbelievable. In one of the less pornographic poses she bent herself in half sitting on her own head, if she doesnt like the travel and cabbage diet of the circus, Im sure she could easily find a job in Thailand at any number of shows.

 

In the last half of the day we watched another Chinese performer balance himself on rolling cylinders before moving on to some well less talented Aussies who were trying to bore the crowd out of their money. Our last stop on the way to watch spiderman 3 (dont watch that, its 2.5 hours you wont get back) were some English lads with probably the least amazing talent to go on but the most enjoyable show. The crowd swelled to a good size as the three danced and sang in Korean and English gtting the crowd involved. Top notch entertainment if I do say so. We finished the day off after the torture of the movie with some all you can eat shabu shabu for dinner.

Contrary to popular opinion I'm not dead but instead have been leading a peaceful, non-eventful couple fo months here in Seoul. After having a few mates visiting from NZ and Japan spring has turned and the weather has become more accepting of a few beers in the sun and after purchasing a BBQ the Ansan massive have had three booze and bbq flavoured parties. All of our apartments have a flat top roofs which are perfect for a day/night in the sun with some great tunes. Although recent events involving a soccer ball, a hotel, nudity, cardboard boxes, a convience store and several visits from policemen mean the next few weeks may have to be slightly more sombre or a return to Beer Plus to take the good times indoors.

 

Last weekend I had a first. To celebrate a couple of birthdays we headed into Seoul to the clubbing area known as Hongdae. Our first stop was a hookah bar. Slightly different from the widely available hookah in the middle east, hookah bars in Korea use the same device but instead use fruit flavoured insense. This is smoked through a 2 foot high bong on the table top with two mouthpieces to inhale the smoke. Our room was a small inclose on the terrace on the 4th floor overlooking the main clubbing district. With bottles of vodka coming for 35USD to our table and ofcourse the hookah we headed for a dance at the western nightclub before retiring home around 5AM, me minus my cellphone. Another one bites the dust. Hopefully Ill have some pics of the weekend soon.

The last month has been full of football. I not only got pitchside tickets for an international but starting playing againt for the mightyness that is Intersuwon Football Club. Made up of a local bunch of primarily poms, Scots, Paddys and token representatives from NZ, Aus and South America we play in the Seoul Sunday League. After losing our forst couple of games we have started to get some combinations together after settling on some positions. I have been holding my own in the defence remembering everything from my Soccer days back all those years ago.

 

For the international game, the local bunch of ex pats known as the Ansan massif brought an entire row and retired to the World Cup stadium in Seoul, appropriately named due to their shared hosting of the 2002 World Cup with Japan. The stadium itself was amazing and although not at capacity still attracted over 40,000 spectators which I think contained the majority of the foreign community for the Uruguay-Korea friendly. Even the Red army behind the Uruguayian goal in the first half could not coax a Korean goal. nevertheless at the opposite end Uruguay toyed with Korea and seemed at about 50% scored two goals at will. This much to my amusement 2-0 stayed the score as Korea failed to get anywhere near close despite their highly over-rated Manchester United played Park Ji Sung. Since the second half was as entertaining as a English rugby backline four of the Ansan massif stormed the pitch and managed to fend, out-run, and step their way through the meagre security and polices forces to halt the match for about 5mins until they were tackled. Shortly after the match we caught up with our mates who weren't apprehended or even fined. One was asked to stay beside the field while the police chased another so he Promptly left. The others were caught, taken to the sideline, given a drink (I can only assume this was water but it is Korea) then let go. this story having spread like wildfire will no doubt/hopefully inspire more would be more soju induced streaking. Got a couple of pics of them on the field.

One of the few things I knew about South Korea when I first arrived was it's well known communist partner to the North. All this became a lot clearer after 1 month of teaching when Kim JOng Il (their dictator) decided exploding a nuclear device would be the best way to making friends with the rest of the world. None the less plans came together and Ave and I found ourselves after all the red tape, democracratic applications, and not so democratic applications on a bus to the border with a bus load of predominantly English teachers from Seoul.

 

We were handed our visas with as opposed to being pasted into your passport were designed to be hung around your neck stating the normal array of details from nationality to profession, the later which I decided to make up on Daves application for a little humour and the feact that a statistician might be a; reveered and b; unknown in the North. South Korean immigration was simple. An airport style set up, line up look on a computer, stamp and off you go. Although due to the hostile nature of the border we ofcourse had to board another bus to be transported the 4km across the De-militarized Zone to North Korean immigration. The DMZ was quite amazing with swamps and an obviously increased amountof wildlife including several species only found in this area on earth due to the lack of, you guessed it people. Immigration at the North consisted of a large white tent where we where forced to line up in an order only known to the North KOrean guards pushing us around. Passports and visas in the left hand and cameras in the right hand, presumably punishable my the amputation of either for those who get confused. during my inspection at the border the soldier asked my name, position and natioality to confirm it matched his records. This later to my amusement is to find any mistakes, spelling or otherwise for the sole purpose of imposing a heafty fine in USD. Fines were also issued for our stay to anyone not displaying thier visa on the outside of their chest the correct way around at anytime, littering or any other minute offence. Nevertheless everyone was admitted and we proceeded on another bus journey to our hotel.

 

All the buses travelled in convoy through the North Korean countryside lead and followed by military vehicles and flanked every 50m by soliders armed with weapons and red flags. The weapons for insolent foreigners and the flags for anyone taking photographs outside the allowed areas; ie anywher but away from anything North Korea. If a soldier raised his flagthe entire convoy would be stopped and everyones cmaera searched until the illegal photograph found and deleted and the perpetraitor fined.

 

The level of poverty was extremely obvious. Farmers ploughed their fields with undernourished cattle while children and women wearing cold war seconds military clothing cleaned the baron fields of stones or debirs. There was no vegetation anywhere, everytime the winf blew your visibility was cut with clouds of dust coming from the miles of bare dry soil. Clusters of clay/brick houses stood between long dirt roads on which groups of Koreans walked and cycled as the only vehicles I saw were those near the various miitary installations.

 

Out hotel was in an area with other hotels, restaurants and tourist shops, a convienience store, entertainment pavillion and carpark. Although it wasn't a compound in the true sense no nationals not working there were allowed in and it was clear you weren't allowed out unescorted. here the currency was USD and our hotel was 4 star serving everything from heineken to tacos. The mixture of staff were South Koreans employed by the multination companies making a killing in their tourism adventure and North Korean nationals no doubt working at the higest station one can achieve outside a backside riddled with bullets in a attempted border crossing. Our rules were simple. We werent allowed to discuss the South or politics of any kind and any reading material, or electronic equipment was forbidden. Our cellphones and any batteries or chargers were confiscated before entry.

 

We did two hikes in North Korea. Its called Diamond Mountain by most Koreans and the views hiking up only a short distance are amazing. The hillsides were dusted with snow contrasting the floors of the valley with the organ pipe shaped rocks protruding on either side producing sharp cliff faces and exposed slopes. The walk on the first day went up to the top of a peak, up a series of sharp staircases. On the second day the walk followed a valley up to a Korean teahouse perched on a cliff overlooking a frozen waterfall. The trek continued futher but was cutoff by ice to trampers. So after the usual photos and throwing stones onto the ice we followed the meandering path towards the carpark alongside the frozen river.

 

Obviously we indulged in a series of jars that night including some karaoke and other mayhem but they are stories for a conversational touch.

 

Leaving was them same procedure as the incoming trip. Again led by the military to the border in convoy we were watched by soldiers on both sides looking for any excuse to stop our buses. Once through immigration as walking back to the buses several bursts of automatic gunfire in the distance quickened our stride. From the confines of the bus several closer rifle shots rocketed from the hillside. Following the shots several soldiers standing guard on our buses ran towards the disturbance however there was no way in hell I was getting out of that bus or even raising my head. Believe me once we started up and got back into democratic country I have never been so glad to see an american solider waving at our buses.

Some of you know Dave, many of you wil know the raving alcoholic blond haired loony, Lowrie and as of Sat he has been here in Korea as the start of his OE. This week I took the week off and together we have been doing all the Seoul tourist traps and generally talking as much bollocks as possible while letting him explore the weirdness that is Asia. Its been quite refreshing to have someone from home. All the small things that after a certain amount of time in a foreign country you forget come back to life. Dave notices all the things which I was amazed with when I first arrived in Japan, neon lights, vending machines everywhere, the complete lack of anything but straight black hair. Its been a good laugh trying all the weird food and stupid customs again.

 

So this week we visited;

 

Seoul Tower which climbs 300m above the center of Seoul in Namsan Park with revolving restaurants and the coolest urinals I have ever seen. It was quite an experience havang a coffee that high above the second biggest metropolitian area in the world. I can't wait to get a chance to see it at night.

 

Namdaemun and Dongdaemun Markets each surround two old gates to the city and sell everything from fake clothes to the best ginseng money can buy. This year apparently the item of choice is North Face jackets. Every second Korean wears a black North Face puffer jacket, must have been one big trauck that they fell off the back of.

 

Gyeongbokgung Palace is the biggest in Seoul and housed the royal family when they moved the capital here in the 14th century. Although it was destroyed by the Japanese during their rule it is now being restored by the World Heritage Fountation. Its a huge area and amazing to walk around and see the temples and surrounding moats.

 

The Korean War Museum was closed the day we visited but this saved us from spending 3000won on reading meaningful things inside. On the grounds are the vehicles, boats, planes and artillery from every war on the Korean Penninsula and others. We braved the heavy snow and sub zero temperature to sit inside tanks and explore the workings of anti-aircraft weapons. Loved it.

 

I've added a few photos and tonight we are off to North Korea to hike up the Diamond Mountains... the cold war is over right?

It has been a busy couple of weeks with Clapton and school but I managed to squeeze in time in the weekend to travel up to Phoenix Ski Park early Saturday morning with Davy, Kirk and Tom for two days of snowboarding. Not as big as Pyongchang where we went over Christmas but it has some amazing slopes and some great runs, including a few black diamond runs which I tried my hand at not so successfully but still a hurdle which has been tried. The best boarding was the Sunday morning where after a late night we hit the slopes at 830. The temperature was warm and the sun shining on us as we traveled up the lifts. Due to the early morning the slopes were empty and the lines for the lifts too. We managed half a dozen runs on a 1.7km run from the top. Was amazing to fly from the top to bottom without biting the snow in a pile up and finally have some space. If you havent done it already I suggest you do. Its like surfing on Red Bull.

 

Im loking to have one more weekend on the slopes before winter ends. Although the bank account may not appreciate it at that cost, its not the cheapest sport!

I saw Eric Clapton in Seoul last night and it was amazing. The concert started at a resonable 8pm, however the trip from Ansan changing a couple of times of the subway and getting dropped of at the opposite end of the large Olympic Park in Seoul by the taxi took all our available time. The concert was held in one of the arenas used to host the gymnastics competiton in 1988 and must have seated about 10,000 people. Eric supporting act was J.J. Cale although we only arrived in time for Eric's first song where he started off playing a lot of his newer songs and some older more Blues numbers before accompanying band left the stage for a perfect rendition of Wonderful Tonight. As the set continued the tempo was lifted and the guitar solos got longer and before finishing with a sterling rendition of Layla. The raw guitar and piano is something that is made for live music and Ill never forget it. After the obligatory break for the encore Cocaine rocked the whole place with more Koreans singing and dancing than a rocking Karaoke room.

 

The whole set was unbelievable. The whole band had his passion for music and needless to say each song wound up around the 8-10 min mark after guitar, bass and piano solos. Worthy of a special note were the pianist of unknown gender, even though we could see him/her on the large screen.

 

Im rambling now so Ill leve it their. Off snow boarding this weekend again so Ill have some more stories next week.  

Asia is the world hub of fashion crime. Now Angela will tell you that the chavs in England have that right to themselves and I myself would argue that a walk through Eastgate mall can have you running for the mullet police camera shot quicker than Michael Johnson on steriods but I think we have found a clear cut winner. Asia. I was first tipped off when going through customs in Osaka when a gentleman wearing a astroturf cap walked past me but only today I saw a man sporting pink bike shorts and matching vest in the gym. This combined with the stanard attire in Japan of men paying top dollar to wear anything pink and shiny. Although it is less the case in Korea I think it is catching.

 

Although some will fight this, I myself am a fashion guru of sorts. Pioneering the anti sneakers and jeans movement of the early nineties and co-founder of the mulet wall in 1998 with Ed Cameron. However recently living in two countries with dubious clothing styles I have discovered I have gone downhill. Only last year I progressed to the rolled up jeans look as a measure of the heat. I still stand by my original stance on that but combined with the manbag in late 2005 things may have gone downhill. It was capped off today when I put on my white trainers with the jeans and saw no problem in going to work. It has gotten out of hand.

Didnt really seem like back to work this year. I got the long weekend due to Christmas falling on a Monday (which is more than those stuck in Japan, suckers) but as these countries dont believe in Boxing day that and New Years day were the only two holidays which I had available. So in all honesty it feels like a long weekend especially with the temperature rearely above 5. New Years was pretty quiet. We had our fair share of beers throughout the day but kept it quiet and saw the New Years in inside the bar with a sambuca shot, as one does.

 

I'm working days for my first time in Korea and changing from my 4pm-9pm schedule has been difficult. I now have to rise to make my Monday 10:30 class and I finish up at 5ish. Its still the same old job of attempting to teach English Conversation to children who are hell bent on rote learning. Its a pretty standard set up. We have 20 odd teachers who teach everything from Maths to Science to English. My department teaches English Conversation to children whose parents specifically pay the horrendous money or to those students who are in the highest streamed classes at our school. Myself and the only other teacher teaching English Conversation teach 5-6 40min classes a day. Because I speak absolutely no Korean anything I do with them is considered a conversation class cos they have to interpret my questions and stories and speak to me in English. Thus I have free rein over my classes and what they learn. No assessment, planning or anyone looking over your shoulder. Just the foreigner in front of the kids. I didnt say I earned my money.

 

1 more month of these day classes then the kids can go back to school and I can get up at midday again!!!

 

 

To celebrate Xmas in true northern hemisphere winter style the local expat group of 12 booked a chalet at a leading ski resort on the opposite side of Korea and headed up the mountain for 3 days of sore bottomed fun (in a strictly non prison movie sort of way). We travelled on the Sat morning leaving Ansan at 6:30 on the subway to meet our bus in Seoul only to transfer buses again at another location. Needless to say that as we got closer and saw the signs celebrating the resorts bid for the 2014 winter olympics we were happy that we had successfully negotiated our way onto the right bus.

 

Our chalet was amazing. Although it had a maximum occupancy of only 6 we managed on the first night to sleep 12 and the second after meeting some Korean friends on the slopes 18 people. Two storeys, two toilets, two balconeys looking out over the mountains, heated floors and on the side of one of the slopes it was a perfect haven for our trip. Although a couple of the boys did hit the piss pretty hard during the night and the days as well most people had a few but kept the madness to a minimum due to the days of boarding and levels of tiredness.

 

The resort although really bust during the day with families camled down after dinner as punters returned to Seoul and once the lights were switched on the whole place really got a life of its own. Night time definitely was the best time to board, with less people on the slopes, perfect weather and everything looking like a giant Christmas tree covered in snow it was surreal. Im not sure the photos quite captured it but it really was quite magical boarding down a slope lite up by lights at close to midnight.

 

I have never boarded before and it was my misson to learn in the two days I had at my disposal. On the Sat I stuck to the beginners slopes and after a frustrating few hours pulled the pin in substitute for a cold one. The Sunday was a different story. Everyone brought a gondola ticket and took the 25 minute ride to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful rugged hill country and nothingcompared to ski fields in NZ. Even at the top it was only 1400m above sea level allowing lots of trees and bushes to grow offering a stark contrast to the slopes back home. After returning to base we hired our boards and Tom and I continued our slow pogress from the day before but decided the easier way to learn was to jump in and take on the advanced slopes. One we named the tree run weaved a goat track through trees before opening up on a steep wide slope. We did this 6 times each time getting better. Towards the end not only were we getting down almost unscathed but we were getting upset at other people for getting in our way and falling over in front of us "professionals". After 8 hours of boarding we were comfortable on the slopes and I cant wait to get up again and start my orientation with the jump circuit.

I hope everyone had a great year and are looking forward to the indulgences of Christmas, and due to the fact that I am in a country which hasnt kept Christmas going as a way to introduce more holidays into the work year and has the furtherest thing from decent Christmas tucker then I sincerely hope you do indulge for my sake. It's hard to belive its Christmas here at all. In Japan although it wasnt strung from the lights and pushed down your throat like many western countries at least the thought of a trip to the mall would produce its fair share of panic. Whereas here in Korea you would be hard pushed to know it was Christmas at all. Their are a few shops trying the hard push for gifts but for a country which is 25% christian (dont check those figures) it isnt considered a day to be with families. Instead all Koreans I have spoken insist that its a day where couples should be together watching the lights in Seoul.

 

Me. Since I cant have my roast or a good game of BYC, I am going to head up the slopes and get two days of solid skiing and boarding under the belt. I leave tomorrow for a ski field which is one of the biggest in Korea and leaves anything I have skied on before in its wake. Apparently the complex we are staying in is so big it has its own ten pin bowling alley. I cant wait and will be sure to post some pics when I come back.

 

But everyone have a safe and merry Christmas and enjoy your time with your family and friends. 

Well he wasn't Chinese and not even in China. I have had half a missing tooth for about a year now caused by a cavity which colected its fair share of food particles and was very occassionally painful. After not having it seen to in Japan and putting up with the pain it got bad enough to make me go home early from a night out drinking and that was enough to get me to the dentist to have it seen to. After 7 visits to the dentist and $700NZD (400USD) I had some root canal surgery and only last Friday had a gold crown fitted. Its been a long dream of mine to have gold teeth and I look forward to setting off airport metal detectors. Long story short....no more pain and some mouth bling!

I have decided as a winter resolution if you must that I will get back to trying to make at least one entry in this blog per week in keeping with the sterling pace I set myself last year. To get the ball rolling I will catch up on recent events here.

 

Angela left her job just over a month ago and bought tickets to go to Spain, a. to spend some time with her folks and b. to achieve a lifelong goal of improving her Spanish. After not really enjoying the teaching here in Korea and missing her parents we decided it was the best idea for her to spend some time there. I however have enjoyed my time here so far so will keep my contract until August next year when we will meetup if not before and continue our travels.

 

This all means in the last month Angela has been temping at another teaching job, we have shifted apartments to a newer place nearer my school and Angela flies out next Saturday. So that means Im all by my lonesome, but after a year keeping the countryside tamed in Japan Im sure the city here will come easier. Promise thats the last of the real news. Power ranger photos are still being sought...scouts honour.

This was one the the things that was high on my to do list after seeing a lonely planet documentary where someone shot a golf ball over the area between the two countries. North and South Korea have been at war since the countries were split into two at the end of WWII after American and Soviet goverments handed control to the battle torn area to different parties. So a demarcation line of ceasefire keep the two countries apart with a 2km demilitarized zone (DMZ) on either sde of that line, making it the most armed border in the world. At its center is the joint security area where talks are held between the two countries.  That golf course is still there, although Im sure those selfish Iraqis or Afganis have stolen that privledge now.

 

The border is only 30mins from Seoul and as you leave the city on the way to the DMZ you travel along the Han river, which for part represents the border. It is heavily fortified on the South side with guard posts every few hundred meters and 10 foot barbed wire fences to stop any spies getting across. After having our passports checked we crossed the river along a 1 km bridge armed with anti tank barrels making the bus do a slalom to reach the other side. Our first visit was the joint security area right on the border between the two countries. The only border here is a raised concrete slab between the shared buildings. Surrounding us on all sides were guard posts from both countries. One Northern guard it was clearly visable 10 or so troops watching us through binoculars although as we entered the building I felt safe with the barrage of American and South Korean troops keeping us safe. The joint talks building spans the border and was manned by three Korean soliders wearing glasses to help them concentrate and skilled in close quarters combat in case of an emergency. Itwas here that I effectively got to cross the border. As we left the building as with anywhere insode the JSA we had to walk straight in a line without turning our heads until we got back inside. Obviously pulling the birdie may have caused an international incident of some status.....so I refrained. In our buses safely away rom the crazy communist guards we headed to an outlook over the border. From here it was posible to see North Korea and many guard posts build near the border for both sides. As one photo shows the closet North town is visable with its 157m flagpole, the tallest in the world. our guides told us very few people live there now and the village is fequently cleaned to provide the impression that the North is a lovely place to live. From our outlook we drove to the monument of the axe murders, where in 1976 allied troops moved to cut a branch off a tree on the Southern side of the border to improve visability to the North. As they did so North Korean tropps armed with axes surounded them killing or injuring all. 10 days later a large number of heavily armed allied troops moved in and chopped the tree down supported by a aircraft carrieron alert off the Korean coast. BRILLANT! The bridge in teh picture is where prisoners of war were exchanged after the cease fire was signed in 1953. The middle of the bridge is the border and as the prisoners walked across they were never allowed to retrun, thus its name "the bridge of no return".

 

Our next stops were less interesting or life threatening. First a UN station overlooking the DMZ where everyone had to stand behind a photo line to take pictures of the North so as not to provide them with any imformation on the troop movments on this sode of the border. And next a series of tunnels made by the North going under the DMZ into the South. The tunnels each from 45m to 150m below the surface were discovered following hints from a North Korean defactor. We were allowed to walk down to one and along until we reached the border were the South has blocked the tunnel.

 

Even with all the recent media on the relations between the North and South I never really appreciated the situation which I live so close to. It wasn't until I stood near the border and saw the armed troops on both side seemingly just looking for an excuse to open fire that makes you realise that it is the most volitile border in the world. I didn't stain myself but I dont think anybody would have blamed you.

After getting all you fools to read this week in week out and filling it with the most amount of rubbish one can write in semi understandable dribble, I will chuck in a plug for my weekly sporting fix online. Free! I watch between 3 and 4 rugby games a week and now with the cricket in full flow I download at least one one dayer a week to sit down with a few of the colony boys here in Korea and have us a session!

 

If you dont use torrents you need to sort that our first. The only way to watch good TV and sport in countries where they think reruns of McClouds daughters and Teletubbies in Korean is primetime TV. The best site is http://www.aussietorents.com for sport and NZ/Aus TV, but you also might want to check out http://www.diwana.org too. Get yourself a bittorrent client!

 

If you like me enjoy some live code you can watch games live for $4.95 or $129.95 for a seasons worth of viewing a http://www.mediazone.com/channel/rugby/jsp/2006/index.jsp Not bad for living here in ROK. Just a plug for those like me stuck in a place where sport consists of bad quality football or baseball (oh how I hate that game)

Well after 18 months of living in Asia I have finally taken up a martial art. Three days a week i bike over town to torture myself and hurt muscles I didnt even know existed. The routine is simple enough, 45mins of stretching including your hamstrings with someone pushing you down to increase the pain and then 1 hour of training. Even in this first week we have covered roundhouse kicks and our teacher believes that in 8 mnths he can get us to  a stage where we can make the trip into Seoul to be tested for a black belt. Although he also believes that he can get us limber enough to be able to do the splits!!!

 

Speaking of our teacher. Not only does he conduct all of our classes in English...he is a TV star. If you can think back 10-15 years ago there was a childrens TV programme called the Power Rangers. They were a group of super heroes in suits. My teacher was the pink Power Ranger well the stunt double for him doing all the Taekwondo fighting scenes. Although I havent asked him to see the suit yet, my goal is obvious.

 

In the mean time I will continue to spend my weekends in pain with my legs tighter than a..... Next up will be the photos of me in my outfit.

This week is Korean Thanksgiving so we have been lazying our way though 5 straight days of holidays and no work. Because every Korean heads home to their native community during this time and the fact that about half of the shops are closed we decided to stay home rest up and do a couple fo day trips to soak in some atmosphere. On Wednesday celebrating our 1 year anniversary, Angela and I opted for a day of shopping in Seoul. We took the subway into COEX Mall and casually perusing teh English titles at the bookstore I happened upon a copy of Mein Kampf... Im not joking! Apparentely Koreans are a little more free with their speech than the many other countries I have been to. If one should want to puchase this, it will set you back only 60NZD for the priviledge for reading Adolfs personal thoughts.

 

After leaving the mall and some well deserved Burger King we took the subway again down to Itaewon. Itaewon is the foreign part of Seoul where youll find a Korean walking a long the street a rare sight. We did a little shopping on the street side stalls selling Calvin Klein and Levi producats that fell off the back of a truck and enjoyed our first Thai meal since coming back from Bangkok 2 months ago at the Thai Orchard and it was delicious.

In keeping with hte lifestyle we have become acustomed to we partied it up with the creme de la creme of seoul society last Saturday. Well maybe not the high society types but none the less with members of the Australia and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce. The party was held in n less a location than the Seoul Hilton overlooking Seoul tower and downtown Seoul. The afternoon was a buffet BBq and open bar for the Aussie Rules final. Although I dont know a lot about this game or do I really care from what I remembrer it was a great affair coming as close as it ever has in its history. But for angela and I that was a side point in the proceedings with free beer flowing and being toped up by the waiters and Aussie steaks being shared from the BBq for the 200 exclusive ticket holding participants. At only 55000 won (6000yen/85NZD) it was well worth the 6 hours of drinking and although we were home by 11pm without our commemorative balls I got my moneys worth!

All you have to do is put is put your iTunes, media Player or whatever you young kids are using on shuffle through all your music and use every song in order as an answer to the question. Hers mine!!

 

How does the world see me?
Song: Wont back down
Artist: Tom Petty

Comments: I prefer I wont take shit but could be stubborness...

What will I dream about tonight?
Song: Talk shows on mute

Artist: Incubus

Comments: Political realisations about a controlled society...1984...I must be dreaming deeper these days.

Will I have a happy life?
Song: I was only joking
Artist: Rod Stewart

Comments: Think Ill use the artist this time. Hes had every blond supermodel, he must be happy! Yay

What do my friends really think of me?
Song: Truc Drivin man

Artist: Lynard Skynyrd
Comments: Only if I get the cap and a horn!

Do people secretly lust after me?
Song: By the way
Artist: Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Comments: Ill take that as a yes

What's under my bed?
Song: Sledgehammer
Artist: Peter Gabriel

Comments: Just checked and no there isnt....promise

What will happen to me in one month?
Song: With a little help from my friends

Artist: Joe Cocker

Comments: I have friends....Woo Hoo!

How can I make myself happy?
Song: Wired World of Sports
Artist: 12th man
Comments: Sports and taking the piss out of Aussies. Itunes has the answer.

What should I do with my life?
Song: My sacrifice
Artist: Creed

Comments: hmm, might not comment on that one in this current political climate.

Why should life be full of so much pain?
Song: 29 palms
Artist: Robert Plant

Comments: heartbreak, infactuation and evil women.

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?
Song: Change

Artist: Blind Melon
Comments: Am I dont it the wrong way?

Will I ever have children?
Song: She Glows

Artist: Zed

Comments: So thats a yes

Will I die happy?
Song: Undercover of the night
Artist: Rolling Stones
Comments: In my sleep, better than a North Korean invasion

What is some good advice for me?
Song: Garden of Allah
Artist: Don Henley

Comments: Garden of Allah is a famous Hollywood apartment complex or a 40s gay caberet. Hmm...

What will cause me the most pain there is?
Song: The long and winding road

Artist: Beatles

Comments: doesnt sound good either...Dont do this stupid quiz. Meaning what, Ill do a lot then be back at the same place?

What is happiness?
Song: Kiss the Bride
Artist: Elton John

Comments: How romantic

What is my favorite fetish?
Song: Whos gonnaride your wold horses?

Artist: U2

Comments: Promise its not

What is my biggest secret?
Song: Livin on a Prayer
Artist: Bon Jovi

Comments: OK OK I went to church a couple of times

 

The worst thing that will ever happen to me?
Song: Keep on movin'

Artist: Five

Comments: How di that get on there? So the worst thing is the beating for having Five on my computer? Fair.

How will I be remembered?
Song: Live without it
Artist: Killing Heidi

Comments: No Comment

 

If you give it a go let me know anything interesting, Email or hit comment.

Most of the readers here know the effects of the tequila shot, a session of topless drinking, 3am smirnoff black ice or a white russian. In my extended experience only one thing in the world the next day is able to help the recovery.

 

POWERADE MOUNTAINBLAST or more affectionately known as smurf p1ss. After a year in Japan without this to guide my Sat and Sun mornings I hve arrived in Korea to the discovery of the century. Not only do they stock it, you can buy it in 1.5 litre bottles.  All I need now is a steak and cheese pie!