Sunday, August 23, 2009

a few random photo's...

on a walk to jeongja subway station



slightly wilted....



local riverside pool area....



rainy day, student umbrellas at the entryway of the academy...



after work, end of intensive classes co-worker dinner....

menu: shabu-shabu



waiting for the broth to boil, then you put in the vegi's and thinly sliced beef....delicious!



always kimchi on the table....



good quality korean beef....



and then there's the platter I cannot have....shells, shrimps, and other seafood delights...

See you Soon! Ciao for now!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Kayak trip to Kokwon, Northeast of Seoul, nearby the DMZ...

Early morning on Saturday, I was picked up by one of the Korean kayakers that I haven't seen in a year and we headed off to meet a few others for a day of kayaking. I was excited to get on the river, since the last trip to Jinbu with Luca. It's been a few weeks too long.



packed and ready. kayak waiting by the door of my flat.



well...we met up with the others in a suburb of Seoul.....
I just had to get a photo with the model for Vivaldi Park's Ocean World as we were waiting for one other kayaker. :D



also some delicious looking peppers in a nearby garden.



well were almost loaded. decided to take one car...nice load of colorful plastic on the roof!



on the way...noticed a big bear on the side of the road at the top of a mountain pass....
we stopped for breakfast, and like always a "cow stomach soup" place. i opted for the convenience store ramien noodles. Just can't eat certain animal organs, especially that early in the morning. LOL!



well hours later we made it to the put-in. the water is lower than when we were here last year.
but, should still be fun. it's hot out and the water is cool.



and we're off!



had to get the WildWasser shot...



all along the river, many people were enjoying the beautiful day. Today is "Independence Day" so everyone seems to be out....nice to see Koreans having fun! they set up their tents for the day on the side of the river...swim, fish, bbq, etc.



Jong Keun in the distance....



we arrive at the first main rapid. Scout it and I Fire it up, sweet line and a good rush of adrenaline......
above as i was sitting in the eddy waiting for the next one to run, some guys decided to do some "net fishing", not sure if they caught anything, but it looked like an interesting technique.



here comes Hyo Su...(Spelling ?) lining up for the drop...



going deep in his Bliss Stick playboat..if you look close you can see his paddle in the middle of the white....



some on-lookers.



here comes Jong Keun in his Jackson Hero...he a a good line....



this gives the drop a good perspective on size....



i had to chase after a boat from a swimmer....so i was pretty far down stream and missed out on some excitement. if you look closely in the photo above you'll notice a small E-Mart raft running the drop blind, not knowing it was even there, no helmet, no PFD, not nothing....needless to say, i think they were lucky.



well they made it through...i wish i was closer to see the action and capture some good photos.



this might have been the best photo of the day....Ajumma (Older lady) sitting in the river with her umbrella. the things you see in foreign places, gotta love it!! :)



one of the many ledge type rapids. Definitely a fun run, last year there was more water, so it felt bigger. have to come back when it's higher.



Jong Keun running one of the boulder garden rapids....








we stopped half way for lunch, a roadside food stand and natural spring



we had Korean style crepes.



nice river side lunch.....



4 of us, the 5th is taking the pic. L to R (me, Jong Keun, Kookin, and Hyo Su)
enjoying some food and a CASS.



then came along the Bundaeggi (Silk Worm larvae) this smells like dirty feet, pretty gross....i have never tried it in almost two years living here....decided to have a taste, just one little piece, that's all I needed to try and it really wasn't bad...I've had worse, but it wasn't good...



this place had it's share of specialty teas, bottle for who knows how long...



well, back in the river....more action = more fun.... :)



amazed at the high water mark...check out the pieces of trash on the trees/bushes.



well just about finished....



at the take out some local farmer driving by....



loading up and heading home. We stopped for some Korean BBQ on the way home. Lots of traffic and hours later, made it home around 1130pm. On the way back talked to Luca who was out with friends in Seoul. I thought about going out, but it was a long Korean day....6:50am to 1130pm. Lots of Korean culture experienced throughout the 15+ hours...that can definitely tire one out.... LOL!

until next time, hope you enjoyed the adventure!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Random photo's and events throughout the last month...

Private club party, 1st B-day party, local river flooding, bowling, and roof top BBQ....
A bunch of photo's from through the last month......



a Friday night, I met up with Giuditta, Nicole, and Jean for some private battle of the DJ's sponsored by Miller Beer. Nicole hooked us all up with tickets. Very interesting Club....called Platoon Kunsthalle Club. modern design made from large shipping containers. Anyway...it was a fun night. Although it was super hot on the dance floor.



one of the DJ's mixin' it up!



digitized...



these guys were good, but the headliner DJ Crush later on in the night, kinda sucked. So we ended up leaving....



a few westerns sticking out on the balcony...





quite a crowd for a private party....





the restroom doors were kinda cool!



moving on....only 1 photo here. this our boss from the academy, they had there son's 1st birthday party....i didn't think it was such a big event. all three are dressed in the traditional Hanbok.



the slovenian mountain goat in my flat....



during the short-lived rainy season....we had a pretty big flood on the local Tancheon. (river) bigger than last year. it did so much damage to the local river park. I was away at the mud festival that weekend. wish i was here to see the big water, could of been a chance to hop in the kayak and surf some monster wave....



as you can see the grass on the railing of the running path....the water was very high!



tore up parts of the running path...



pretty wild!



and the exercise equipment was ripped out of the ground or mangled up.....



what's left of some exercise equipment. used to be an incline sit up bench, some chin-up bars, and some parallel bars.



check out the high water mark on that jungle gym!






here you can see the high water mark on the 10th step. that would mean like 6'-10' feet over the bike path....



more recently a night out bowling with the co-workers....above Demontray with his interesting style....



the score board....pretty low scores all around....i actually won..but with a low score under 200..
but did manage to win a free margarita at the mexican restaurant afterwards....



jenny showing some style....



cathy enjoying here Strikeh!



Omega having fun!



me in my red party pants.... :)









cathy showing some skill....i believe her mother was a "pro" bowler....as was my mom!



1 pin....



1 pin.... goofing off and being silly!



the all-stars are way more comfortable.....

Time for some margaritas and mexican food!!



well this is the only pic from the restaurant....a shot given by the waiter as service....cathy and i split it. This place actually has the best margaritas in Bundang. However, doesn't compare to places in Colorado....






A few weeks ago Luca has his first roof-top BBQ. it was a success, good times for sure.



above is a Korean kayaker friend named Fluke...I was about to start the grill and he said, "step aside, I'm the BBQ master!"



later in the evening a few musical instruments came out....Boostdah came to the party, he has his own band which you may have seen in a previous posting. he's a great guy, super down to earth.



the only light on the roof....



Luca and Viviana singing some songs...



fun times on the roof...great weather for a party!






Sebastian, Giuditta, Luca, and Misha....



that's all.......

until next time!! Ciao ~