Greetings Dongers, It's time for another update on life in everyone's favourite dong. This Sunday saw the departure of the visiting members of the McNamara Clan from the Republic of Korea. My mother and sister paid Alwyn and I a visit, spending a total of 9 days in the dong.

They were here over the chusok weekend - unfortunately this meant any highway or train travel was a virtual impossibility due to everything being booked out and the highways being jammed full of cars (40 million Koreans making the annual trek to their nana's house at one time tends to do that) So we used the 5 day long weekend to explore the wonders of Daejeon city. In addition to the obligatory tour of the Songchon-dong, they saw the downtown area, various local markets, Dunsan-dong (the major dept store shopping area and the home of Daejeon's only Subway sandwich shop), and Yuseong (just ask them about their visit to the traditional Korean spa). The highlight of the weekend was our visit to Ppuri park which is on the other side of town, it was in set amongst the mountains in the south of the city with a river running through it. The park is all about Korean ancestory with a statue for every Korean family name in the park.




After three days in the factory it was the weekend again! and we were off to the world's fifth largest city, Seoul. The primary purpose of this day was for the ladies to indulge the number 1 vice of females everywhere, shopping. (I think I've seen enough fake Louis Vuiton bags to last me 10 life times). So it was off to the markets. We went to three markets in total Namdaemun , dongdaemun and Yongsan. Namdaemun was a haven for dodgy fake handbags, humourous t-shirts, various items of Koreana and crazy Koreans driving there vans into crowds of people. We actually found t-shirts with Korean on them - a rarity. Namdaemun markets is also home to its name sake - Namdaemun which is the Great Southern gate and Korean National Treasure #1. Despite being crowded and cramped it was a pretty cool market, I picked my self up a few knock off t-shirts and some cheap sunnies. - and Alwyn got a Spongebob T-shirt.

Namdaemun

Dongdaemun markets, for us, was not so good. Dongdaemun was more of a shopping area than a market and we had no idea where to look. All we managed to find there, were army surplus items and plants. So for any commando horticulturalists out there Dongdaemun is for you. And finally there was Yongsan - now I must admit here is where ol Troy boy did quite revel in the shopping environment. For those not familiar with Seoul, Yongsan is the electronics market. With all sorts of goodies - from mobile phones to computer parts. Today I was shopping for pirated DVD's and PS2 games - at $10 for PS2 and $5 DVD how can you go wrong? After our day of shopping it was off to Itaewon - Seoul's foriegner neighbourhood - for a tasty curry.



And what trip to Korea would be complete without a visit to one of the many singing rooms Korea has to offer! Our trip to the Naraebang was filled with many renditions of classic tunes from way back when with a few new tunes thrown in for good measure. Of course, I was reluctantly dragged onto the mic for a few numbers.










It was cool to spend a week doing some touristy things in Korea being that we haven't really taken much time to do that. A good time was had by all - although Mum wasn't too keen on Korean food. There was a plus side to that as we got to try a lot of western and other foods over the week. Including Outback Steak house (see Alwyn's entry on our field trip there for more info) which served up a delicious steak with proper chips! oh yeah. Even better the meal was free because my sister found a grub in her veges. To that I raise my free glass of Fosters.

As for us now we have had to put the tourist facade to one side and its back to working and watching cartoons. Work has been pretty good lately, I got my class timetable for next month recently to find that the class I have dubbed The four thirty Fuckwits have been given to another teacher. The icing on the cake is that that other teacher is Alwyn-teacher! Ding Dong. Outside of work I will be keeping myself busy with many of the wonderful items I purchased from shady characters at the Yongsan markets. Stay tuned for game reviews.

Until next time,


- T

Chusok @ Swaton Language School For Kids

On Thursday September 16, 2005, Alwyn and I helped out at the Swaton Kindergarten Chusok Party. Chusok is the Korean Thanksgiving holiday and Chusok day was on Sunday September 19 this year.

Chusok is a quite a big deal in Korea its probably the equivalent to christmas back home, but most importantly it meant 5 days off work for us, for which I give thanks. The party involved the kids playing traditional Korean games, making traditional toys, as well as preparing and eatting the traditional Chusok snack, song pyun. By far the highlight of the day was seeing the little ones dressed up in their Hanbok (Traditional Korean Dress). They were so cute, they all looked like little Korean princes and princesses. It was a really fun day, I have attached a few photos from the day - enjoy.

For more pics click on the link to "Troy's photo album"...

- T

Hey Guys - I hope all is well for everyone reading this. Just a quick G'day just to let you know we are still alive. All has been well in the dong of late - just been working and sleeping pretty much. This weekend is Korean Thanksgiving , which is called Chusok -but the most important thing is that we have the 5 days off from work, now that is worth giving thanks for. At the moment we have been busy preparing for my mother's and sister's guest appearances as themselves on The Dong. Please note that I have added to our entry on Korean food and also I have included some more photos from our trip to Busan supplied by Dong local Dan the Kiwi, enjoy.

Ding Dong

-T