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Keeping you updated of life in Busan.
10.10.2004
Finished another year in Korea! Well it's been 4 months since I last updated you on my adventures.
Ok, so last you heard, I had rocked Hong Kong, China and Macau, right? Then, we had a few farewell parties and things started
to slow down. Went to the International Rock Festival in Busan. Convinced Brett to buy a bike. Sebastian came back from Canada and moved in for a month. Did a road trip to Ulsan
(Brett, Sebastian, Su Hee, Andrew, Sung Ah, Ah Young and myself). Problems with an ajash and a weekend in jail then
happened. Took off to Vancouver with Ah Young. Problems with flights (never use Northwest!). Met my family there and went
to Chuck and Lisa's wedding. Showed Ah Young around Vancouver and up to Whistler. Back to Korea to work my last
month and receive my bonus. During Chusok (Thanksgiving), Ah Young and I took off on a road trip to Gyungju. Finished
my contract and suprise, suprise, my school screwed my on my bonus (serverence). I managed to suck half of it out of them before
leaving (never sign a contract!). Breathing calmly, I got on a JAL flight to head back home. Of course I had problems
at check-in, and of course my flight was rerouted to Osaka because of a typhoon in Tokyo. Landed in Osaka and stayed
in dock for over an hour. Disembarked to find hundreds of angry travellers stuck in Osaka for
at least a day. No hotels, but they did give us sleeping bags for the terminal floors. Now I'm waiting for
a new flight that will take me to L.A. then Vancouver. Hope I get to Vancouver in time for Canada's Thanksgiving.
It'll be good to be home. 2004 hasn't been the greatest year. I'll be anxious to relax in good ol' Sudbury
for a while. What's next? Korea again? Who know's?
-b
6.20.2004
Things are great here in the R.O.K. I just got back from a fantastic vacation in South East China.
Colin hooked us up huge. In return I hooked us up with Home-Stay Jenny. His buddy was outta town,
so we had his $1,000,000U.S. pad to ourselves. We stayed in Central, Hong Kong Island. If you see any pictures of Hong Kong,
it's of this island. The skyline is out of this world. You think you've seen big buildings, but these blow everything
out of the water. Unreal. We stayed in SoHo (South Hollywood) in Central. This is where all the poshiest clubs, trendiest
restaurants and hottest chicks are located. This however, comes with a cost. Beer was sometimes $13/bottle. Nuts. We had saved
up, knew it was going to be an expensive vacation, and didn't let anything stop us.
SoHo is also famous for it's celebrities
and models. Models come to Hong Kong for short contracts, stay in SoHo and party at night. So, if you see someone hot, she'
most likely a model. As you can imagine we made "contact". One night we met Robert Deniro. Not a lie. I gave him a High "V".
Another night, we met Elvis Costello.
We did all the toursty things, went to the Peak to see the City at night (photos will be up soon), travelled
to the World's Largest Buddah (away from the city perched atop of a mountain), shopped, then got our Visas and travelled to
China Mainland. All the time, Jenny was our tour guide. She was amazing. She did all the work. Haggled, translated and brought
out her hot cousins for us to devour. In China, her parents hooked us up at a 5star hotel and showered us with fantastic,
greasy Chinese meals. We were given a personal driver to shuttle us around the country. Literally. He drove us 2
hours to Gwangzhou, waited 4 hours as we shopped with our beautiful guides and then drove us back. Next day, we toured
around the ruins of Jenny's ancient city. We stood in a home that has been in Jenny's family for over 300 years. Then our
driver drove us to the border of Macau. In Macau (the Vegas of Asia), we blew $300 in 30mins. We decided to spend
the rest of the day sight-seeing in the Portugese/Chinese country. Then we took a boat to Hong Kong, arriving in the
main harbour at night. Amazing.
Last night we had formal "farwell" party for the crew that's leaving Korea. As you bet, I wore a white suit
with shades. We rented a suite at a fantastic hotel on the beach. Tons hot chicks, booze and partying. Again, as you guessed,
we were asked to leave (kicked out) at midnight.
-b
5.23.2004
After a year of hard work, plus some time off because of injuries, I'm finally a black belt in Taekwondo. Went up to
Seoul last weekend, for my test. Back in Busan, this weekend we lost in another baseball championship final. Weather is becoming
very hot. Off to Hong Kong in 2 weeks. Travelling with Colin (fellow black beltian) and should meet up with Jenny.
-b
5.5.2004
Trying to get all the necessary documents in for the University of Auckland, trying to settle the score with Ebay and
the 3 pairs of golf shoes that I somehow purchased, trying to get the website off the ground and trying to keep with taekwondo
every night. In two weeks, I'll have the Black Belt.
Things have been busy here. Lots of work, lots of taekwondo, some gambling and some partying. Good weather
is back, which makes riding fun. However, the pollution and Yellow Dust from China, makes it hard on the
lungs.
-b
2.28.2004
Taekwondo is in full swing. If all goes well, I'll have that Black Belt in a couple of months. It had been a long time
since I did wheel kicks and had to spar, but I shook the rust off and put my dobok back on. Planning my trip home soon. Booked
a stop over in Hawaii. Looks like New Zealand next year if I can get my application in on time.
Threw our first party last Friday. "Hick Hop" was the theme. As you can imagine, tons of people, tons of drinks
and tons of mischief. At midnight to can of pink hair paint was brought out to accent the hick attire. If that wasn't
enough we brought it to the bar and spayed innocent strangers. Yes, almost a few fights, but none.
-b
1.28.2004
Well, I'm back. After 15 days of sweatin' on the islands and beaches in the Philippines, I'm back to work in cold Busan.
Ya, Philippines was great. I found it a little similar to Thailand, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Fellow Northern
Ontario party animal, Dave Wilby and I flew to Manila, spent a night there, then headed to Batangas. From there we took a
boat to the island of Mindoro and set up shop on White Beach, near Puerto Galera. Here Dave did his Open-Water diving course. I
also did some dives and hung out on the beach. We rented bikes and got up in the mountains and visited the slummy town
of Sabang. After 5 days we were ready (and brown enough) to head to Boracay. We took an over-night cruise, and got there by
early morning. A night later, we were on the island of Panay and in the town of Kalibo for the Ati-Atihan festival.
The festival, which is very similar to Mardi Gras, was celebrating its 793 birthday. Naturaly, we got into the parades. The
remainder of the week was spent on Boracay, and at a friend's bar called Outer Space. Dove again, golfed a few times,
saw a cock fight, went sailing and drank a little. Left Saturday the 24th in a rush, was on stand-by, but managed to make
in on a flight. I guess I'm 2-1.
-b
1.6.2004
I know, I've been taking my sweet-ass time updating the site. What can I say? I work hard. Therefore, I'm busy.
Ok, to update you'll, I've been working for 4 schools around Busan. One near City Hall, one in Seo-dong, one in Banyo-dong
and the other in P.N.U. I bought a new motorbike - bigger and meaner. Look for pix around the site. I coached and played in
2 baseball tournaments. One raised money to help with damages from Typhoon Maemi. Snagged a gig working at a new bar
in Gwangalli called "FOXY". I'm one of their djs ( DJ Valley Viper), spinning on Fridays and Saturdays (Recently, I canned the Friday shift). Tough hours, but it pays and pays my bar tab.
The latter can be costly. In November, I attended my taekwondo instructor's wedding. Korean weddings are much like Canadian weddings, but quicker. The receptions are different though. Friends are sent to one bar, while family
is sent to another. Christmas was relaxed, but New Year's was fun. Gang of us headed up north (6hrs) to Seoraksan National
Park. We stayed in a condo the mountains, near the sea. Did some skiing and some hiking. Even found some time to get
some partying done. Now back in Busan, I'm working a week before heading to the Philippines. Should be great, as I'm gonna
spend 15 days in the sun, doing some scuba diving, and maybe some partying. -b
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