Korean National Museum

Yesterday, I decided to go and visit the Korean National Museum. It is only about 20 minutes on the subway from my house and very, very reasonably priced; only about 2 dollars to get in.

I originally thought it was the Isu stop, but soon discovered that it was at the Ichon stop. While I got off the subway stop at Isu, I decided that since I had made a mistake, I might as well have a look around at that place.

I went into Taepkyong Dept. Store and decided to have something to eat. The staple of my diet-bibim bap. I have loads of the spicy sauce on it and even to this day, after having eaten it at all kinds of places, the Koreans can't believe that I have that much sauce on it and always say, "Spicy, spicy, too spicy, stomach hurt!" To which I always say to just give me some more of that hot stuff.

The Koreans think they are the only country on the earth that eats spicy food! They really are narrowed minded about some things at times. Like the world begins and ends in Korea. What about Mexican food, Indian food, which have some of the hottest spices to be found!!!!! Anyway, just another complaint that I have about the narrow minded Koreans.

Back to the museum, once I got back on the subway and got off at the right stop. It was massive and very impressive. I am not going to label any of the pictures, suffice to say that they are all shots of the museum, inside and out.

It was quite an overcast day, so some of the pictures show a dark sky above. There were not a lot of people there, but enough. I walked around for about an hour or so and decided to come back at a later date and see some more stuff there.

I only managed to walk around the main level. There is another floor as well as the Children's Museum and a place called Special Exhibition Hall, which I think has the Buddha display showing at the moment. At 2 dollars to get in, it is no use wearing yourself out trying to see everything in one day. It is also so close to where I live. So, I will go there again sometime soon.

I went and met Dave last night in Bundang. Met him at Dublin's and saw a few people that I used to know when I lived in Bundang. I met George from Philadelphia who I always have a great chat with and a good laugh. We were talking about having a healthy lifestyle and eating well and how it has to become part of your everyday life. None of the gimicks that are offered either by drugs or medicines, can give you the staying power to live that way for the rest of your life. Isn't the whole idea of being healthy to do it the healthy way and stay away from medicine or drugs!!!!!!!!

I stayed at Dave's house and headed back to Seoul in the afternoon, about 2pm. Dave went off to work at 10am and I just slept on his couch some more......haha.

I got some more books off of him. I am currently reading "The Da Vinci Code." It was a book that I for some reason, was not drawn to. But, I must say, it is starting really well and very well written. I have also started another book, which I will read on the subway and the bus. It is called, "The Deep End of The Ocean." It is about a missing child and has started out quite well. It was written back in 1997, so it is not a new book, but it got some good reviews and I think it was made into a movie.

Went to the gym again today and did my abs and calves as well as a 6km run. Feel good today and had a great chilled out day. It is still raining too much for my liking and wish it would just stop for a day or so. It is still very humid and even after the spot raining, it is still very, very humid. I have had the air on pretty well all night the last few days. The house was reading 30 or over without the air on.

It's Been A Long Time Coming! But It Has Happened!

I am a very happy man to be able to say that my son, Tyler, after about 5 years or so, finally has gotten to see my sister, Jackie and my brother-in-law, Nuri.



My sister is on holidays at the moment and made the trip down to London, to see my Mum and Dad. Tyler met up with them and they spent the day together, Uncle and Aunt, Nanna and Grandad.



They all look great and I was even surprised at Tyler, as he has lost weight since I was there in February. My Sister said he is a nice lad and he is a lot like me, gestures and stuff......sorry about that Tyler......lol.........don't mean the nice part.....lol.



For myself, I feel like I am floating on a cloud. Seems a bit surreal at the moment and it will take a while to sink in. The fact that my son has a relationship now with my Mum and Dad and Sister; my family. It has been a long time coming and as one could say- time is a wonderful thing especially when time becomes a healer.



I am happy that my son's life complete with its ups and downs, has taken a turn for the better and that now, he can forget about any of the stuff that has bogged his early teenage years down. He knows that we all love him and that is something that no-one or anything will ever be able to take away from him. We love you, Tyler!!!!!!!!



I want Jamie and Kate now to meet him- his cousins of course. My Sister said that the kids both might go down to Mum and Dad's before they start school. Tyler has already said he would meet up with them.



So, with a bounce in my step, I am enjoying my holidays even more today. My plan is to go to the gym and then off to the Korean Museum. I will take a few pics of course and let you all in on some of the history of Korean culture.



It is pissing down rain again. The rainy season is supposed to be over by now, but it still seems to be lingering. Even the Koreans are saying that it is unusual to be this rainy in the middle of August. Let's hope that it ends sometime soon. I don't mind the rain at all, if it is in spits and spurts. Don't like it when it is a regular occurrence. That is one of the reasons that I could not see myself ever living in England again........The weather.......4 seasons in one day.

Coex Mall........Wow! Is All I Can Say!

During the second week of my vacation, I have been sleeping in late, going to the gym and generally just chilling out.

Last night, I decided to go and check out Coex Mall. I was told by a lot of people that it is quite an impressive place and they were not wrong at all!

Double locking doors on the subway, to stop the 'jumpers' who occassionally want to commit suicide.......weird eh.

It is massive. There are so many shops and especially food courts. It has a cinema inside of it as well as an aquarium. Most of the stores were either shut or shutting when I got there.

Check out the price of gas. 1670 won, is the equivalent of 2 dollars. That is a litre!!!!!

I got there about 8pm or so. The amount of detail in some of the stores and the floors of the mall and the overall detail to design of the columns and different areas, was impressive.

There were some really neat advertising banners and pictures as well as some really 'funky' looking stores. The pictures that I have on here, are of all different kinds of stuff, but most of them, I hope, capture the money that has been put in to building this kind of mall.

There is every kind of store that you could imagine, as well as a huge library that features a full-on english section. You can buy any kind of novel there or history book and the prices are in the middle range. If anyone ever wants to buy an english book, new that is, then the book store at Coex is the place to go.

There is a bookstore in Haebongchon, which is just around the corner from Itaewon and it is a second-hand bookstore that is full of all kinds of books. It is worth checking out and the prices are really reasonable.

There is a hotel in the Coex Mall as well as a trade tower. I didn't go and look at the trade tower, but stepped outside the mall for a moment and encountered the "Lucky 7 Casino." Again, a very impressive building, but I didn't go inside, of course. Anyone that knows me, knows that one thing I am definitely not, is a gambler.......haha.

Met up with the fella that I work with, Isaiah, at Geckos. Isaiah is off to the Philipines on Wednesday. The poor guy got his motorcycle stolen from our school! He had the thing about 1 week!!!! There is no way that he will get it back. That is one thing here in Korea that happenes a lot; motorcycles and scooters getting stolen. The only way to prevent them from doing it, is to buy a really good chain-lock, which is a big deterrernt because they can't roll the bike down the street then. They would have to lift it onto a truck or something and they wouldn't be able to do that with the weight of a motorcycle. Needless to say, Isaiah didn't have a lock!

Entrance to the 'Megabox' cinema. Quite flashy, I would say!

No plan for today, other than going to the gym and working out. Finished reading the book, 'The Face.' I am now working on finished the other book, "Rose Madder." I am not reading as much now as I am not on the subway going to work back and forth. It is funny how you get into a habit and out of a habit, so quickly.

The Weekend Is Here Again

Friday night, I met up with Rob and Richard (from Nigeria) at Geckos. Then Jason joined us, but Chris from England couldn't get in, as the doormen werer asking everybody for i.d. I was quite pissed off with the doorman, as I told him that Chris was my friend. The doorman has known me for months and if you can't get your friend in, what the hell!!! The doorman is Korean anyway. Enough said. I did voice my displeasure at the whole situation to the doorman. I left with Chris to Seoul pub and the other boys finished their drinks at Geckos and then went off to Helios Bar.

We met up with them at Seoul pub about an hour later......finally. Jason had had a run-in with some g.i. that was taking the piss out of him after Jason had told him that he was in the military for many years as an officer. Jason even has his ring to prove it, to which the fella said, "I am pharoah too, want to see my ring!"

Jason wanted to pound the fella, but calmer heads prevailed and Jason and the boys went off to Helios Bar, diffusing the situation. I wasn't there while all this happened, Chris and I were at Seoul Pub.

We went to Helios Bar, which is a total meat market, but with an attitude. There was a cover-charge to get in, which I am always loath to pay. You don't get a d.j or a drink. They are just raking the money off everybody. It is not a very good place, as far as I am concerned. At least at the U.N. Club, the cover entitles you to a free drink, so you are really only paying about a dollar to get in. That, I can handle!!!! So screw you Helios Bar!!!!!!!!

I ended up leaving Helios Bar to go to Hollywood's and watch the Liverpool vs Shanghai game from Rotterdam, Holland. Hollywood's got the time screwed up and I ended up watching the game with 75 minutes already gone and Liverpool leading 2-0. Rob joined me about 5 minutes later and we watched the rest of the game, which was okay, but Liverpool were just playing around with the Chinese team.

Got home at an unearthly hour again, but managed to read some of my book, "The Face." I finished it later the same day and am now on a mission to finish the other book that I am reading, "Rose Madder."

Got up about noon time, read my book, like I said, then went off to the gym. All day yesterday, my left leg kept cramping up, really badly. I had a dead foot several times during the day and it was quite worrisome at the time. I thought I had pinched a nerve or something, as the pain would not subside and it just kept coming and going, almost like I had done something to the nerve.

I even had a really bad cramp in bed during the night with the same leg. My calf just tightened up and would not relax. I managed to get it to relax and today it is a little better. I decided to not run today, prudently, I think. I just did some sit-ups and other ab exercises as well as a full triceps workout. Had a nice relaxing sauna and a nice cool bath.

Rob and I are off to Kangnam tonight to meet Dave. Kangnam is about 20 minutes from where we live in southern Seoul. It is quite a ritzy place and packed solid. Need a change from Itaewon and from all the foreigners. Kangnam is full of mostly Koreans and the odd foreigner here and there as apposed to Itaewon being the other way round.

There is a great little bar that Dave and I have been to quite a few times that plays great rock music and is very small with a good atmosphere. I think we are going to have dinner in Kangnam, too.

Rob just left my place after finally picking up his bag from 3 days ago. I give him the keys to my house about 2 weeks ago, so he can use the computer when I am not here instead of going to a pc room and paying. I pay a flat rate every month, so it is no skin off my nose and I trust him.......hahaha.

Just put on some arm-juice and sprayed myself with some lovely smelling cologne, which hopefully will help me pull some birds tonight......fat chance! I think I am on a barren run lately, but God loves a trier!!!!!!

Oh yeah, had a raincoat with my wet underpants and socks from the gym inside of them. I didn't have a bag on me today. As I was getting off the bus to come home, I guess the underpants and the socks dropped out. I didn't realize until the bus pulled away that I had lost them and there stuck between the sliding back door, were a pair of undies and socks. I waved at the driver, but as usual, they have no peripheral vision and are oblivious to anything around them. The thing that pisses me off is they are 'Joe Boxers' and are worth about 25 dollars a pair.........shit.......funny though really......lol.

Liverpool Have A Song In Their Name......By The Mission

Dave sent me a message at the end of July to Facebook. I just discovered it today and here is the link that plays the song written for what one can only describe as "The Miracle In May!"

Enjoy. I like the song. It sounds very much "Echo and The Bunnymen" like. The lyrics are very good, too.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=411327&cc=4716

Check Out The "New" Anfield Stadium To Be Built.

Although the present Anfield is an icon of football history, the club needs more seats and a more modern stadium. To that effect, the new stadium has been approved and I must say it looks nothing less than spectacular.

Check the link out and click away on the pictures and read about the exciting process that will evolve out of the new location and the infrastructure that will go along with it.


http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/newstadium/

A Few More Pics From The Weekend Barbecue

Gareth took these pics as well as many more. He has them on his 'facebook' page. This facebook phenomenon is exactly that. Everyone is getting into it now including me. You can get in touch with people that you haven't seen for years or since high school or even elementary school, if you went to school in that country.



These are a few funny pics of me as well as one that shows me 'posing!'



Today, it is raining a little due to the intense heat. Just got back from the gym again and had a nice cup of coffee at 'Coffee Bean.' The only problem with having a cup of coffee at the name places is the price; it is about 4 dollars and fifty cents for a large. I know that Tim Horton's kicks the shite out of that price.



Someone told me that Tim Horton's just increased their prices a little. Is that true. Could someone please comment and tell me if they did or not or send me an email to let me know.



I am off tonight to meet Jason whom I met in Japan. He lives in the area and I found out today that he is off all week on vacation. He has a new teacher coming tonight also, so we might as well show him around a little......hehehe.

A New Feature To The Blog!

My blog now has a new feature. It is a poll question that you can answer and there will be results to go with it........so cool!!!!

If you look in the top right hand corner of the blog, you will see the poll right there. Feel free to answer it. It is totally just for fun. You get to make you own questions up.

This is my first try, so let's see how many people actually answer the poll..............

An Ulsan Weekend!

Ulsan is about 4 hours south of Seoul. Dave, Rob and I headed there Friday evening and arrived about 10.30pm. We were all set to have a party with 11 guys on the beach in Jongja, which is about 30 minutes outside of Ulsan.

The view from the front of the condo facing the beach. Gareth taking a picture of me taking a picture.

Rob stayed in Ulsan on Friday night with one of his friends and Dave and I helped load up Dan's van ( the guy that organized the whole thing) and loaded up Dave's car also. We headed to Dan's father-in-law's cottage for Friday night and then from there we headed to the condominium on the beach.

Baldy in Bundang, just before we left for Ulsan on Friday afternoon/evening.

Dan picked up A.J and Nick and Pete and we all headed to Dan's cottage for the Friday night. We all got to bed about 3am or so and woke up at 9am to a nice bacon and home fries breakfast complete with toast.....nice!!!!!!!

Guy playing cards. He hails from England.

It was very very hot and we knew that it would be great weather to be at the beach. Dave and I drove down to the beach and we met Dan there and unloaded all the stuff.

A guy called Nathan was already there with an English fella, Guy.

Nathan at the back, Gareth reading "Trainspotting."

There were sausages, garlic bread, tomato sauce, spaghetti, onions, home-made hamburgers, loads of cheese, garlic, hot-dog buns, bread, vegetables coming out the ying-yang and of course, 10-24 packs of beer, which disappeared by Sunday morning.

Guy on the left. Dan on the right, (the organizer of everything,) Nick is on Dan's left. Dan is French-Canadian and Nick is from British Columbia.

There was no liquor as such, but that changed late Saturday night, as Gareth, much like myself, hates beer and couldn't stomach anymore of it. So, he headed to the store and got some soju, which we mixed with orange-juice. Much better than beer, I must say.

A view of the beach. Sorry the pic is a little fuzzy.

Rob and Tony showed up late Saturday afternoon. We all had a good time. We swam in the sea, which was very salty and played cards, sat around and chatted and of course ate and ate and ate. Dan did all the cooking and most of everything else. I chipped in cleaning a bit and also washing a few dishes, but most of the others were idle arses and didn't help at all!!!!

Tony and I, with me showing how much I value his friendship....haha. Tony is from London, Ontario. Dave and I brought him here in 2000. He stayed ever since then and we became really good friends along with Rob.

Oh well, Dan said it was to be a test so that if he decided in the future to do some catering for others, he would get an idea how much work it would involve and how much time it would take.

Night time shot of the party place under the tent complete with bbq and tables.

Everything wrapped up about 1pm and most of the others went home except, Guy, Gareth, Nathan and myself.

The place where you washed all the sand and grime off of yourself.

Dan dropped of A.J, Nick and Pete and then came back for all his stuff. In between him dropping the fellas off, there was a massive storm and we watched it right from the beach front. It took Dan about 2 hours to get back due to the traffic. We loaded the rest of the stuff off and took a scenic route back to Ulsan to dodge the backup of traffic, which by now was about 5 kms back!!!!! We got back to Ulsan in good time and it was a really nice drive despite the drizzling rain.

Dan, the gracious host, cook, dishwasher, cleaner-upper and driver!

I went to the public bath and then met up with Gareth at his house about 7pm. Dave and Rob had left to go back to Seoul about 1pm, as they had classes on Monday. I had nothing. I am on vacation for the next 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!

Gareth, catching an afternoon nap!


Gareth and I went round to Benchwarmers and then went and had some kalbi and some more soju. We ended up back at Benchwarmers and then headed home after that. We got home pretty late, but we had a good time and it was nice to hang out with Gareth, one on one.

I woke up on Monday morning feeling as sick as a dog. Gareth went to work at 2pm and I decided to wait until he finished at 8pm and then head back to Seoul. I was in no condition to ride a bus for 4 hours. At 8.30, Gareth came home and I headed for the bus station. I got the 10pm bus and arrived in Seoul at 2.30am. It was a good bus trip and I got to read a lot of one of the books that I am reading.

I am reading one book called, "The Face" by Dean Koontz and the other is "Rose Madder" by Steven King. Both books are really well written and exciting to read. I am about half way done both of them. Still don't have a tv in the house and I can't see myself getting one in the near future.

I woke up this morning, went to the bank and paid my rent, sent money to Canada and paid all my bills. Then I went to the gym and ran 8kms and had a full chest workout. Even with 3 days of not doing anything and eating most of the stuff that I never eat, I didn't put on any weight. I am still hovering around 210lbs. Time to put it into high gear and drop that 10 pounds.

No more late night eating, which was becoming a habit again especially after a few drinks. No more eating now after 10pm at night. I am going to go to the gym everyday during my holidays and work harder than I was before to get rid of those extra pounds and flatten my belly at little more.

The weather is really nice and it is nice and hot! I am planning on going around Seoul over the next 2 weeks and just explore things by myself. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but want to see some of the places that I have been meaning to see since I got here. I will have some photos of the places for sure and I will post a blog about some of them.

Not much else going on. I am enjoying the summer here in Seoul and am looking forward to the beginning of the Premier League, which starts on August 11th. The Community Shield is being played this weekend between Chelsea and Manchester United. They are showing it at Hollywood's on Sunday evening, so I will be there for sure.

They are also showing one of the Liverpool games, which is being played in Rotterdam, Holland. Should be a good game and there will be some of the lads watching it there as well, like Richie and Howie and maybe Matt!

My favourite mouse pad..........

Going To Watch Liverpool vs Hong Kong XI.

I started morning classes on Monday due to the summer schedule change. That means that I work all this week including my usual day off, Friday. That means that we get two weeks off in a row, though. That never happens here in Korea, so it is monumental just to have that amount of time off!!!!!!

It is nice though, as I work this week, get 2 weeks off and then return for 2 more weeks of mornings and then back to the normal afternoon schedule.

I am getting up no problem at all, but must say, I don't like getting up that early anymore. I made the choice after working early mornings for about 20 years once I got to Korea. I am working afternoons and never getting up that early for work, ever again!!!!!!

Hey, it's my life and I choose to do things my way now. Whether people agree with that or not, it is still my life and I am living it according to my likes and dislikes. I know it sounds a bit selfish; I suppose that I am!!!!!!!!

Going to see the Liverpool vs Hong Kong XI at Hollywood's. It is a 9 pm kick-off, so it won't be done too late. I am getting to bed about midnight this week anyway.

Off to Ulsan on the weekend for the boy's beach party and hang-out. Looking forward to it very much. I found out that Gareth is going now, too. That is even better news. It should be a good time. Dave and I are leaving Friday night and should be down there about 11 or so. We are going to stay at Dan's house and then the whole thing is set to kick-off at 9am or so the next morning.

Included a few pics of shots of Itaewon and one of the police that surround the army base close to the War Museum. They wear t-shirts and carry these really long sticks that look like Kendo sticks. They are patrolling completely around the base along a marked pathway, which you can see above, on both sides. There must be in excess of 30 or so total policeman at the same time doing their patrols. They do it 24/7 too!!!!

Enough Is Enough.......Come On!!!!!!!!

Please read this article. I hope you feel it is as ridiculous as I thought it was! Do they do this in all their houses if they move to Canada or America or any other western country? Absolutely ludicrous. Stop right there people!

There is nothing wrong with being respectful to other's culture, but in prison........Holy shit!!!! Literally.............haha.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4926114.stm

Liverpool's New Boys!

Liverpool Football Club have made some new signings in the last few weeks and in my opinion, it will allow them to realistically make an effort into winning its first Premier League Championship since League One became the Premiership.

As Gerrard has said, "Liverpool has not only invested in the present to challenge for the Premiership, but they have also invested in its future with the acquisitions to the Academy and a total restructure on young players and their progression into the big team from the reserves."

I would like to introduce the new players:

The first player is Fernando Torres. He cost Liverpool in excess of 24 million pounds, which is a record for the club. Part of the deal for him was Luis Garcia going to Atletico Madrid, which is where Fernando came from. Torres is strong, can dribble, pass and has loads of pace. He is a very intelligent player and all indication point to the fact that he can be an absolute superstar in the league. Let's hope so!!!!!!!

Second is Andriy Voronyin who came on a free transfer from Bayern Leverkusen and looks to be a bargain buy from how he performed in his first couple of games. He is strong and determined and looks to have loads of eagerness.

Third is Ryan Babel who was one of the top stars at the recent u20's World Cup. He comes from Ajax and looks to be a class player who can dribble, pass and has loads of pace.

Fourth is Yossi Benayoun who hails from Israel. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of him yet! I think he is very underestimated in the Premier league and will turn out to be a wonderful signing. Lots of other clubs were interested in him, but Liverpool was his only club of choice when he decided to leave West Ham Football Club.