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Monday 6th June...Arrived safe & sound at Seoul Airport at approx. 1430hrs. and as expected we were extremely pleased with Korean Airlines and their above average service...Definately an airline we would not hesitate in recommending and we have certainly flown with a few in the past year....We were met by JongMin & Woo Sung on our arrival and feeling a touch jetlagged from the 8 hour time difference we opted for a few hours much needed sleep before dinner at Songhi's eldest brother Jong Jin's family home in Seoul...As we had arrived on a Korean long weekend holiday (Remembrance Day) it was the perfect reason for a family reunion...Two large rooms at the Seocheon-Gun resort on the west coast had been booked for our family get together...Twelve months away have passed quite quickly and it's nice to catch up with everyone again, including Jeong Heun, Mi Suk and Su Yeoun (no longer my little neice..It must be that Tassie air..!!!..) who are here on a three week holiday from Tasmania..The only ones who were not able to be here were Jong Ho and family in Brisbane and Songhi's eldest sister Sun Suk and family who live in Seoul...As we are here a few weeks earlier in comparison to last year the weather is still not quite as hot, so we are looking forward to seeing some sights we had missed out on previously...Not much planned for tomorrow though..just try and catch up on some sleep and take it easy for the day...
Friday 10th June....We caught the bus into Jeonju around 1100hrs. to do some normal touristy stuff and do a bit of shopping..With our aussie $dollar doing well at present we took advantage of a few bargains...Probably the best buy was a much needed pair of good Asics running shoes bought at less than half the price that you would find them in Australia...I guess I'd better start using them and get some mileage in, so watch out David..!!!..What a shame I miss out on the Gold Coast Marathon this year..haha..!!!..We settled for a serve of Momo's (Stuffed pork dumplings) as a lunch snack before we headed for Hanok Village and then got the bus back home to Soyang village in time for dinner at Songhi's parents house...Thursday & Friday, as promised and before the rainy season hits Songhi & I tidied up her parents garden with a bit of pruning & trimming...As some would know, give me a set of shears & let me loose in the garden and you could be asking for trouble...so thankfully Songhi and her mum held me back and kept a watchful eye on the proceedings through the day...Especially seeing as her elder brother is a horticulturist and specialises in the art of bonsai gardens...Fortunately all is well and I have stayed in the family's good books with my gardening skills...A couple of glasses of Soju (rice wine) with dinner to celebrate our achievements in the garden were quite enough to ease the aches & pains of a good couple of days work....
Sat. 11th to Tues. 14th....Our timing for this return trip to Jeonju could not have been better...Hanok village within the city was the place to be from the 10th to the 12th. for this years Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Festival and Songhi & I took advantage by spending two of the three days enjoying the festivities....The festival is the only one of it's kind where one can experience the various cultural heritages from around 13 Asia-Pacific countries...the extensive program consists of traditional & modern dance, music and story telling on stage including street perfomances and parades throughout the day...Typically, the elegant costumes and extravagant bright colours are a photographer's dream...Much to Song's embarassment we were both picked out to join the evening parade on Sunday and ended up with 2nd. place in "Longest Kiss" competition at the end of tiring but most enjoyable day...My other claim to fame was a 10 sec. stint on the local TV station MBC expressing my views as an overseas tourist to be "An Excellent & Most Enjoyable Day Out" in the city of Jeonju.....
Friday 17th June...After a late breakfast Songhi's sister in law and neice joined us in Jeonju with a view to introducing me to another new korean dish... I think the late breakfast and pre snacks were enough to put me off enjoying the main course and leaving me feeling a touch guilty...We headed for the movies in town and while Songhi & I watched "Love and Friends" we left the others to enjoy a korean movie of their choice....
Tuesday 21st. June.....Our last day of our Seoul and Incheon visit before we catch the bus back to Jeonju tomorrow to spend our last few days with Songhi's parents prior to catching the flight back to Brisbane...We've had an enjoyable trip here visiting and staying with Songhi's neice JongMin & husband Wu Sung in Seoul .. Even though we were only able to spend a short time with them, an itinary was planned out for our stay in typical Wu Sung style .. "I still think he is in the wrong job and should start his own tour & travel guide business..!!"..While in Seoul we also paid a couple of visits to Songhi's eldest brother and his family which included a pre birthday lunch for Wu Sung on Sunday afternoon before hitting the shops for a few more neccessities and bargains ... Seems like our decision to send some stuff home by post has been a wise move ..!!.. It's cheaper and will avoid the hassle of paying for excess baggage on our return flight from here...It has been quite hot (mid 30degs.) for the last few days, though that did not stop us from taking the climb to one of the four mountains that surround the city of Seoul...with the heat haze and afternoon light, unfortunately it was not the best day for a good view of the city, so we decided on the slow walk down and spent a couple of hours browsing and enjoying the air conditioned comfort of the local shops in this highly populated university and quite trendy vicinity of the city... While Songhi and her two neices Jong Min & Hyun Jin spent a little girlie time together, Wu Sung and I paid a visit to one of the huge Apple Centre's to check out the latest and the best in technology...Though a little hot & weary Sunday turned out a memorable day for us all... As everyone else was back at work Songhi & I started Monday with a touch of amusement at the Trickeye Museum in Hongdae, Seoul.... This interactive museum features paintings that use the french trompe l'oeil technique that create an optical 3D illusion on flat surfaces .... We spent the rest of the afternoon with a visit to the palace and in time for another changing of the guard ceremony and headed back to JongMin & Wu Sung's place before getting caught up in the rush hour traffic on the busy metro ... Saving us the hassle of catching the metro back to Incheon, we were thankfully offered a lift to Songhi's eldest sister's house which fortunately was not too far to drive....While the two sisters had much to catch up on I wished them goodnight and crashed for the night around 2330hrs., only to find out they had been up till around 0130hrs. in the morning ....
Saturday 25th June...Sadly, it's our last day of a second memorable stay in South Korea and the day before we once again step back on Australian soil..."It will be good to be back home..!!"..Mum will be anxious to be on her way to Adelaide from the UK quite soon, so we hope all goes well with her journey over...Another six month stay with a weeks in New Zealand to stay with Gordon & Shuna. "We look forward to seeing you downunder Mum and Hi to Felicity & John".!!..
It's been a wonderful three weeks spent with Songhi's family..Even though the language has still been a small barrier at times, they have made me feel completely comfortable & at home...Spending precious time with her parents and family has helped me a great deal to learn & respect the strong cultural differences that are the backbone of this country. I have found Koreans are extremely proud of their rich and colourful history and their current presence as a leading nation in both technology and the motor industry sets them aside from most other countries by far. Though the exposure could be good economically, I think it would be a shame to lose their identity & uniqueness through too much western influence...Without a doubt South Korea has certainly been one of the highlights of this whole 12 month trip and we look forward to being back again very soon ....
Our flight on Korean Air departs around 2005hrs. this evening from Incheon Airport so we shall catch the express airport bus from Jeonju at 1230hrs. for the approx. 4 hour drive...Seems like the rainy season has arrived in South Korea as expected at this time of the year... it's been an almost constant drizzle for the last three days...Considering, Song's brother was having to go out and water crops on the farm at midnight only a few days ago, he now has the problem of having to spend time draining the overflow from the excess rain ... We have not done much since our return from Seoul except to see Song's neice off to the Phillipines on a three week excursion with a few of her nursing college friends and me getting a $10 haircut that should last me out for a couple of months... Oh! Yes and we could not resist another last visit to the wonderful Jeonju markets haha..!!!..
A last repack and reorganise of the backpacks to make sure we keep within the baggage allowance this morning has avoided any hiccups when we check our luggage in....Considering we have travelled for one year with a backpack each and averaging around the 30kgs. of luggage, we both feel proud of the fact that we are returning to Australia with only one extra bag but still within the 40kg. total limit allowance..."Not bad Eh..!!.. With clouds of ash from the erupting Chilean volcano having affected all flights to & from Australia in the last few days we are happy to know all is well and most airlines including ours are back to schedule as of yesterday.... We arrive in Brisbane in the early hours of Sunday morning and a big Thanks to Steve & Gail for offering to pick us up at Brisbane and put us up for a couple of days..!!.. I shall look forward to sharing some travel stories & obviously the Duty Free ..!!.. We will head up to Gympie from Brisbane for a few days with Peter, Ethel & family....Incidentally, this was where Songhi & I started the overseas leg of this epic 12 months back in July 2010 ... I shall look forward to writing the next stage of this blog from somewhere in Queensland, Australia and before we fly down to a few wintery days in Tasmania ... "This blog ain't over yet...!!!!!!!.."
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