Day 43/44 - My first Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was apparently thanksgiving, so all the remaining Nova teachers, American or otherwise, attended a celebration at (Les's boyfriend) Bill's flat. It's a tiny little flat, which had 19 people rammed into it for an evening of gorging. We enquired about the purpose of the holiday, and couldn't glean much more than eating. The menu was impressively large and diverse, containing:

• Bread
• Popcorn
• Sweet Bread Rolls
• Corn Bread
• Peas
• Sweetcorn
• Green Beans
• 2 types of Macaroni Cheese Pie
• Pasta Salad
• Green Salad
• Cooked Onions
• Cheese Slices
• Chicken Pieces
• Ham Slices
• Mashed Potato
• Candied Yams
• Carrot Cake
• Apple Crumble
• Custard
• Crisps Galore

All this was accompanied by Beer & Chu-hi (my offerings) and various other boozes. I was stuffed within about 20 minutes, as were a lot of the attendees, but we all proceeded to eat until there was simply no more room in us, which was about 8 o'clock (it felt like about midnight, it gets dark confusingly early here). We sat and chatted for hours, and I met Owen (Bristol) who said he might be up for seeing some sights when his sister arrives on saturday, so I may have someone to go touristing with. Also a girl called Claire gave me lots of tips on stuff to do here/Tokyo/New York, with the help of the Hostess, Emily, on the latter.

I ended up cycling home on Les's pink Ci-Vada, which was exhausting, and thus (probably also as a result of the immense amount of food and drink that was ingested) I slept for an enormous amount of time, having some of the oddest dreams I can remember. Consequently today has been a little wasted, I'm hoping to go out in a minute and investigate what this area has to offer - after a little research, it seems that the highlight of Kita-Tatsumi is the Ramen place which is directly below this building. Also I must find an internet place to put some of my pictures up from Henry and my adventures.

Day 41 - Aquarium, Castle, Apples

Henry got up early and went and sorted out his Visa, and I met him later to go to the Aquarium. It had been touted by various people as the unmissable thing to do in Osaka - They have the only Whale Shark in captivity, I think. Anyway, it was absolutely amazing, enormous too - some of the tanks were spread over three storeys, they had otters, sea otters, seals, dolphins, monkeys, loads of types of sharks & rays, jellyfish, an 8 ft wide Manta Ray, and various other amazing things. The whale shark was about 4 m long, which is small (they grow up to 12 m) but impressive nonetheless. I shall attempt to upload some of the hundreds of pictures later, the internet in Les's flat (probably because it's stolen from next door) is a little unreliable.

In the afternoon we went to Osaka Castle, a replica of the original castle which was destroyed in the 19th century. The stoneworks surrounding it are all original though, it stands in an enormous park, surrounded by trees (which are just turning red and brown, looked awesome) on top of a hill, commanding awesome views of the city. The castle is 9 storeys high, edged with gold, and fairly spectacular too - although budget considerations prevented us from going up to the 8th floor observation deck. As before, pictures to follow - see the list of albums on the left of the page.

We met Les for a drink and a wander, including a visit to a 280 bar, where all food and drink is only 280 yen, or about £1.50. These places are a blessing in a city as pricey as this, and they look pretty cool inside as well. The reason we met Les & Laura was to attend a lecture at the Apple store, as they figured they might as well learn stuff as they're not up to much else. This turned out to be from a chap called Garry Mouat, on his life in design. While interesting in places, he stumbled over his words loads, and Henry and I struggled to stay awake on our few hours of sleep. We left pretty much the second he finished, we weren't too keen on the Q&A and mingling parts of the evening... Henry and I went for a wander through Shinsaibashi, the Neon centre of Osaka, for a bit of a gawp, which concluded our day of Osakadventure.

Day 40- Leaving Seoul

Monday was a sad day. We all went to our local Ramen etc. place for a takeaway lunch, which was to be my final meal in Korea for (I suspect) a very long time. Leo repeatedly told me I wasn't going to Japan, I should just hang around in Seoul for longer, maybe get a teaching job. I would be happy to do so if I didn't want to get to Thailand and start diving (and if it wasn't so bloody cold) - It's odd, Japan almost seems like an obstacle to this, rather than a unique and bizarre country to explore, but maybe this is just the cold talking.

The flights all went perfectly to plan, Henry and I had loads of time, got two exit seats, I hired a Japanese sim card (09017949910, country code +81. You could call me from a mobile or landline through first number for between 13 & 15p a minute you know), and Henry very kindly lent me his phone for the duration of my stay here. We made it all the way to Kita-Tatsumi subway station, only to find no answer from Les... After a half-hour wait we got a call, it turns out her phone was on the blink, and she lives directly above the station, so all's well. Les says she'll get me a key cut, so I reckon that means I now live in Japan.

Day 37/38/39 - Freezing!

The temperature is now 0 degrees. It's time to leave, going outside is utterly horrible. This has reduced our ventures outside quite significantly, as it is simply painful to go out. We've spent the last couple of nights with Hans, which has resulted variously in:

• Henry dancing on the bar with a nonplussed American man and losing his only winter coat in Tinpan, a very western bar in Hongdae.


• Hans managing to make out with (I think) three different Brazilian girls over two nights in the same bar.


• Going to Itaewon to a place called Gecko's, which was basically just like an American Wetherspoons, with NO Koreans in there (we left soonish).


• Glenn doing something. He knows what.


• Brian sticking his foot in it unbelievably in the cab, and also going to M2, an electro club, and being the oldest customer by a good 10 years.


• Having to deal with Farah smashing on the door of the shower to get me out of there, and screaming her heart out in my hungover ear repeatedly until Jim and Christine got the hell up so we could go for a coffee, all the while claiming that we told her to come round. This was not the case.


• Being entirely lied to by Kate - we were promised a Drum 'n' Bass night, about which we all got very excited (hard to find anything that isn't hip-hop out here) only to find, having trekked halfway across Seoul, that it was someone playing for an hour in a gay club. we got free entry to three other gay clubs in the area, but oddly this didn't swing it.


• Meeting a load of Australian chinese-vietnamese girls and being so confused by their accents and general existence that conversation became impossible due to bewilderment.


• Finding a very strange set of coincidences today - I have encountered Cirque de Soleil in three different programs today, and Seth Rogan and his mate in three as well.


• Finding Superbad hilarious, and Knocked Up even better, while entirely understanding why almost every girl who sees the later will hate it - you are constantly put in situations where you have to side with the lazy laid-back dude and the sophisticated clever sensible lady, and you will always side with your own gender, I would say.


• Discovered the origin of the "Asian Alcohol Flush" (aka Red Tamma), in astonishing detail.


• Packed all my possessions only to find I seem to have gained about 20% extra stuff, even with vacuum packing, since being here.

Anyway, off to Osaka tomorrow. I'll be really sorry to leave these guys, it's been awesome spending so long with Leo, Jim, Henry, Christine etc. I'd love to stay longer, but (1) I need to get moving if I'm going to get everywhere I want to go, and (2) it's just too damn cold.

Day 35/36 - Beowulf, and Illness...

Wednesday was the smoggiest day so far, so much so that when Jim and I walked to the World Cup Stadium along the river, you could look directly at the sun with no problems, it was just an orange orb in a yellowy sky. After filling up on the free samples at the World Cup Mall Supermarket, Jim and I ate Sushi which may account for the slight digestive problems I'm currently suffering from - everything else I have eaten in the last two days I have cooked, so by process of elimination... Also Brian keeps remarking that I'm a cook, based on the fact that I have knocked up some tofu & Surimi egg fried rice and some pasta with a spicy tuna sauce. Hardly a chef, but I do seem to cook more than anyone else here.

Today Leo and I went to the Irish embassy to pick up his new passport, only to find that he's forgotten his old passport (again), meaning that we had to phone Henry and get him to come and drop it off. He did so, but not before inserting two pictures of crudely drawn Phalluses into the passport. One of these was removed before handing it in to be cancelled, but the other somehow remained in until the lady at the embassy returned the passport to Leo. Luckily she didn't see it, as I am not sure what the very conservative Korean culture's reaction to knob doodles would be...

We went for coffee on our way to the cinema to watch Beowulf (this may also be the cause of my illness, on second thoughts), only to find we had mucked up the timings (again!), so we bought tickets for the 10pm showing. It was at the IMAX, in 3D, and was absolutely incredible. I'm not sure how well it would have stood up without the 3D, but we were all very impressed. It was as near to photorealism as I've seen CGI so far. Also they show an astonishing amount of violence and Angelina-based nudity. Geek out over. I also managed to change my flight, to noon on Monday, but I'm on standby for the 1800 flight with Henry. Fingers crossed...

Day 34 - Happy Birthday Mum!

Today we went to Yongsan again, to get Henry's phone fixed. I did a bit of haggling and bought myself a Samsung NV20 Camera, as recommended by Pat. It seems pretty incredible, has a remote control and so on, and loads of other features I haven't yet discovered. We were looking around the I-Park mall, and we found the E-Stadium, where they play televised Starcraft which seems to be on all the time. As we were the only westerners in the (mostly female) audience, we were filmed, and possibly made it onto Korean TV! Also we went to the big E-Mart in the basement, and bought (partly by accident) a 2.7 l bottle of 30% Soju for 6,900 won. That works out as about 50p a pint, for extra strong Soju! Apparently it's part of a kit intended for making your own fruit Soju, which would explain the 2 bags of sugar which came with it.

I also tried to change my flight to Japan to monday, but the lady on the phone said my ticket was so complicated that she had to check the regulations and call me back. She did not do so. I chose my ticket precisely because it was easy to change the dates, so this obviously annoyed me somewhat.

Day 32 - Happy Pepero Day!

Today I saw the oddest thing I have yet seen in Korea - we were walking around a new area of Honggik, when we saw a dog grooming parlour, with the door to the back room open. When I peered through, I saw a woman in a surgical mask very precisely shaving the arse of a tiny dog, as can be seen in the photo. This country is so wierd. We went for a visit to Myeong-dong, a fairly nice Commercial district with narrow streets and no traffic - street food stalls line the streets, and every building seems to be a clothing store. Apparently today was Pepero Day, one of the oddest festivals I've heard of - it's like Valentine's day, but entirely centred around one type of confection, the stick-like Pepero. You can buy gift sets of loads of boxes of Pepero taped together into heart shapes and so on, which you can then shower onto loved ones. An odd day.

Day 30/31 - Pat's last day, and my exhaustion

Pat's last day was a reasonably productive one. We went to Gangnam, the posh bit of Seoul, with Jim, to look for a present for Pat's girlfriend. We searched through the Galleria department store, which was full of Chanel and Tiffany etc., which was slightly out of Pat's price range. We looked in the Lonely Planet for a Korean designer shop, which turned out to contain only men's clothing. Defeated, we walked through the horrible rain to another shop, where Pat bought a bag which "she'll hate, but it's the thought that counts".

We met Leo for a cocktail, chosen and paid for by Pat. He chose: Fuck You (Jim), Sex History (Me) and Matrix Revolutions (Leo). Afterwards Pat and I went for the best Korean BBQ I've had yet, featuring Soju, ribs and wafer thin slices of frozen sirloin. We met the others in Honggik for a few drinks, on the understanding that Pat and I were to be at home by half one, as he had to be up at half 6 for his flight. About 3 am he asked me if I would come to the airport with him, as noone ever says goodbye (ahh). We made it to bed at 5, were up at half 6, and made it to the airport in plenty of time, thanks to a 60000 won cab ride, which Jim assured us would be about 20000. They wouldn't let Pat on the plane as he didn't have a flight out of Singapore, so we, horribly hungover, had to go down to an internet cafe and trawl through his hotmail to find a reciept, which she accepted. I fell asleep on the bus back to town, missing my stop by half an hour and having to get a cab back. Needless to say, I had a somewhat woozy day, and slept for 12 hours while everyone else went out.

Day 29 - A very productive day

I'll try and keep this brief again, as I am making the others wait - today Pat and I went to Insadong for lunch, and had something delicious and Japanese. We then went to the largest Buddhist shrine in Seoul, near Anguk, where we encountered a large number of Korean soldiers ferrying huge quantities of cabbage to, and Kimchi from, row upon row of tables full of women in aprons spicing and pickling the cabbage. I can only assume that they were making a year's supply for a local barracks or something, all very wierd. We then went to the knife museum, which has an enormous selection of edged weapons from armed forces, films (they have Glamdring and Highlander's sword, as well as the Green Destiny Sword!), as well as Helms from Lord of the Rings, and lightsabres which were immensely cool. They also had a display on how to nake a Katana, and a huge array of Shuriken, Kunai, various other Shinobi weapons and all sorts of horrible fighting knives. Once again, being boys, we absolutely loved it and spent ages in there, discussing the ingenuity and cruelty of man, and also going "Wow" at the thing that gave you claws like Wolverine.



We tried to go to a restaurant on the 33rd floor of the Jongno Tower (right, the restaurant sits at the top, above the void), but we were denied entry. We saw a lot of Insadong, which is really nice and quaint, with narrow streets and loads of shops selling monk's robes, calligraphy brushes and fans. We went to Dongdaemun market, where we haggled reasonably well, and I got a Hoodie and a hat*, and then an hour-long sports massage. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life, the dude was pummeling my spine immensely hard, crushing me into the massage table. A few times I was close to crying out in pain, as my (admittedly very large) face was squashed into the korean-face sized hole. Afterwards I did feel immensely good though, although that may just be the equivalent of how good you feel when you stop smacking your head against a wall. Pat enjoyed it immensely, the masochist. We got Krispy Kreme Doughnuts on the way home though, which made everything better.



*Since being in Seoul I have bought four hats, and managed to lose three (although one has now been found). Two of these I have bought on the street, taken off for manners' sake inside, and then copmpletely forgotten to pick up on my way out. I am a buffoon.

Day 28 - Itaewon and Henry's fear...

Today we had to move out of Kim's again, as I felt it would be good for Pat to see another side of Seoul. In the evening we went to Itaewon, the slightly seedy district near the US Army bases, which is full of a combination of westerners and bars designed for westerners. We met Leo, Jim and Henry's friend Hans for a drink, and went and played some pool in Spy Bar, although on the way there Jim and Pat suggested we go to a bar in a likely looking street, however I noticed that the establishments were called reBall, Queens and Toujours Hommes, which I remembered from an article I had read about the burgeoning gay scene in Itaewon. We turned round and found ourselves on "Hooker Hill", which we promptly exited. I must say I wasn't a fan of Itaewon, it was sort of like a grimy, run-down version of SoHo, and I don't think we'll be visiting again.

Oh, also loads of Bars and Clubs around where we were staying have banned american G.I.s from entering due to the trouble they cause, so you can imagaine what Itaewon, which is overflowing with them, is like. Not a nice atmosphere.

On a lighter (for me, anyway) note, Henry has aquired a stalker at his training accomodation. I'll let him tell the story:

"Right some more random news, very random and a little freaky. I'm writing
this at 1am after a strange series of events. I'm (Henry) currently staying in a
hotel room on my own for my training. Whilst going to my room I said hello to
this guy in the lift who asked me where i was from. Naturally I obliged and then
returned the question. He was from Indonesia and spoke very little
english. Almost straight afterward as I was getting out of the lift he asked me
what my room number was which seemed a little strange at the time but I though
nothing of it. About 10-15 mins later my doorbell goes. It's him. "Hello". Of
course I greet him and he asks if he can come in, naturally not wanting to seem
rude I invited him in. He did seem very friendly. We tried to have a
conversation but his english was very bad and my Indonesian was limited to 3
words. It was pretty awkward, for me at least.We were just sat on a bed in a
relatively small room. We didn't get very far and mostly echanged names and
where we are from and even that was difficult. Plenty of awkward silences. After
a while I tried to tell him that I have to study now and make some phone calls.

He then asked me if he could just stay. I wasn't exactly keen. I was just hoping
to chill out on my own and watch tv, not have some random stranger who spoke
almost no english and just sat there staring at me in my roomI eventually
managed to get him to understand that I needed to do stuff and that he had to
leave but I said he could come back later. That he did.He first came down at
about 9.30pm. I could see that it was him at the door cos there is a camera
linked to and lcd display in my room. Although it was rude i decided to ignore
him. I just couldn't face the weird situation again plus I was still studying.
After ringing the bell 3 times he gave up and I saw him walk off. Of course 20
mins later he comes back. I figured if I didn't answer he would think I was out.
He dissappeared after 3 rings. About 3 minutes after he goes the bloody phone in
my room starts going! I assumed it was him and let it ring out. It then rings
again. I let it ring out. And again.Another 20 minutes or so pass and the door
bell goes. I look at the monitor but can't really see anyone. I then look closer
and spot an arm. He was hiding against the wall so he couldn't be seen! I think
he thought it was the only way he get me to answer.This was now getting a little
too strange. After a few rings he retreats. Of course the phone then goes again
and again and again.By this point it is about 10.45 and i'd had enough. The door
bell was far too many decibels and the phone was worse so I just pulled the
phone cable out.

Not long after this i can still here a sodding phone ringing.
After investigation I discovered that there is one rigged up in the bathroom
which couldn't be disconnected. He kept bloody calling at regular intervals for
ages. Eventually, about 10 minutes ago which was 12.50am I answered the phone.
Who knows. It could be someone else."Hello. I am your friend. Remember. Your my
new friend!" To which I politely reply and point out that I am trying to sleep.
He then asks if he can come down to the room to which i said no and further
explain that I need some sleep. He understands this but still asks if he can
come down. I quite clearly say no.2 minutes later the mother fucking door bell
starts going. I should point out then when it rings it lets off 3 very loud
beeping noises. He was pressing it many times. I tried to work the video
intercom to say go away but as all the buttons are in Korean I just set off a
load of alarms and louder noises.After his persistent ringing and my frantic
button pressing I went to the door and just told him that I was trying to sleep,
still keeping my cool. He asks to come in to which I politely decline again. "I
need sleep, I am sleeping!".Now here is where it get even stranger. He just
tells me that he has no friend in his room to which I said perhaps we can do
something tommorow and I can introduce you to some people. He then asks me if he
can come and sleep in my room! Now i'm pretty sure that's not normal behaviour
for complete strangers. I just said no and shut the door.I should also point out
that I asscertained from our odd conversation that he is 33 so it's not like
he's a youngster.Anyhow sorry for the enormous essay like account of my strange
encounter. i just needed to share it. I am still worried that he will be coming
back tommorow. What do I do? Any suggestions?"

Day 27 - World Cup Stadium, Failure, and an accidental night out...

Hmm, I think I'm going to have to be briefer, as Pat and Jim want to go and eat and I'm slowing them down...

Pat and I went on another adventure today, to the 2002 World Cup Stadium. We went on the promise that there would be little electric bikes for hire which we could zoom around on. After a long time searching, we failed to find such wonders, so instead we paid the princely sum of 1000 won (50p) for entry to the stadium, which we had entirely to ourselves. The 60,000 seat building was completely deserted, allowing us to wander freely around the stands, dressing rooms, meeting rooms etc. We ran out of the players tunnel, arms outstretched to an imaginary roaring crown, we mucked around on wheely chairs in the coaches debriefing office, pretended to shout at a non-existant team from the dugout, and generally dicked about and had loads of fun. Afterwards we wandered around to the other side and investigated the World Cup Park, which would have been lovely if it weren't for the enormous clouds of mosquitoes that followed us wherever we turned.

We got a call from Leo and Glenn, suggesting we meet for dinner in Honggik again, so we caught a cab (which got stuck in traffic for ages, making us half an hour late, oops) and went for a brilliant dinner which involved dipping thinly sliced frozen beef into a huge dish of spicy soup, along with veg, squid, prawns and a horrible new discovery which we have dubbed "sea-balls", to complement the earlier discovery of sea-knobs. Leo and I both tried them, and they were probably the worst thing I have tried in ages - when we bit into them, through the hard rubbery shell, we were greeted by a jet of tepid salt water, which was absolutely horrendous.

Later on Jim, Pat and I went out for one drink, and thought we'd investigate a new direction near our hostel. We went for a couple more and ended up in DD, which was completely empty, however the lady behind the bar told me I looked like a "Gucci Model", and said it was because of my hair. We left and went to another place, which had noone in it at all apart from the three girls behind the bar - one of whom was absolutely stunning, unbelievably so, and so, being the weak men we are, we stayed for a drink there too. This was very odd, for a few reasons - firstly because there was noone else there, secondly because The girls leant on the bar directly opposite us, meaning they were staring at us about 6 inches from our faces, thirdly because the owners were sitting in another part and kept sending us cuttlefish, nuts, fried chicken, of which they had a seemingly endless supply, and fourthly because they said Jim looked like Justin Timberlake, and Pat looked like David Beckham. Not a bad haul of compliments really, although I feel they may just have been not very good at telling us white folk apart...

Day 26 - Yongsan and Hongdae

Today Pat and I went to Yongsan market, an enormous market/district selling nothing but electronics. After an awesome Japanese Lunch, we forged ahead into the first of the three enormous shoppingt complexes. Luckily Pat and I share a love of small clever gadgets, so we wandered around for a few hours gasping at ultra mobile touchscreen tablet PCs & Samsung NV20 cameras, haggling over Nintendo DSs loaded with pirated games in the XBox Mile, and generally geeking out.

On our way home we met Leo, Jim and Glenn in Hongdae, or rather we got really lost and they eventually came and found us in Ho Bar III. We ordered some drinks, and were presented with this - a bottle of Whiskey (good), a can of coke (insufficient) and a selection of prepared fruits (just plain wierd). In this country, whenever you order a drink you're given a bowl of crisps, nuts, or some other food for free, which seems to be a good way of avoiding getting drunk too quickly - which is perfect for the Koreans, as they drink a lot compared to other asian nations.

We went to NB later on, to show Pat the wierd phenomenon that is Korean dancing - everyone faces the DJ/stage, in lines, meaning that you're always looking at peoples backs. Evryone does this, and occasionally at some unknown signal a synchronised routine will occur, performed by those nearest the DJ. Pat fell foul of the strong drinks measures, resulting in me making this friendly reminder when we got back home...

Day 25 - A night at Mike's, an evening at the Tower

I picked Pat up with no problems, and after a Soju or two on the train we went to Mike's Cabin, a bar in Sinchon owned by a Korean American (called Mike) who the guys met at the hostel, when he was staying there for a week to escape from his girlfriend. It's a really cool place, and was packed out with westerners, most of whom seemed pretty cool. Leo and Pat got deeply involved in some discussion or other, although Pat later confessed that he may well have been repeatedly contradicting and repeating himself, which probably fuelled Leo's frustration. We stayed there until about four (very impressive stamina from Pat, I must say), when I realised that, distracted by talking to a girl called Shannon, I had failed to notice Pat and Henry's departure. I dashed outside to see them getting into a cab, so I hopped in the other side, terrifying Pat, who thought I was just a random Korean.

Sunday afternoon Pat, Jim and I headed down to the river for a walk in the sun, which was really nice, and Pat and I headed off to Seoul Tower with the intention of catching sunset from the top. Due to a combination of poor directions and a lack of knowledge of where the hell the tower was, we missed sunset by a long time, and ended up getting a cab all the way up the mountain (where only buses are allowed to drive, oops). It was entirely worth it though, as can be seen below.


To quote Clare, "Are you a superhero? This looks like the city in which a superhero might live."

Or, from the slightly more alarmist Birdie, "It looks like something from the future!! Ahhh!"

Day 24 - Pat!

Henry has moved into his serviced apartments for his training, and I'm back at Kim's waiting for Leo, Henry, Jim and Christine to show up. We're hopefully meeting Farah later on for a drink or two, (she called earlier to say she was in Hyehwa, turns out she was in a cafe that pretty much backs onto our hostel!) after I've picked up Pat from the airport. We have yet another new arrival! Farah seems convinced we're trying to take over this city, one by one.

Also, by the geeky wonder of ssh/scp, I have managed to put al my photos on the UCL HEP webspace, here.

Day 23 - Sleepy

Jose got a cab at 5:30 this morning, and arranged one for us to the bus station too. His flights go Busan-Seoul-Paris-Sao Paulo-Santiago. Poor guy.

We got the first bus to Seoul, at 6 this morning. I persuaded Leo and Henry to pay extra for the deluxe bus, in the vague hope I could fit in the seats and get a decent bit of sleep, however that belief was ill-founded. I didn't sleep at all, meaning that I slept all afternoon at the new hostel. We went to the Coex Mall in the afternoon, the largest underground mall in Asia. It's incredibly huge, and has shops selling just about everything. It also has an Aquarium which takes an hour and a half to walk through, and in which (if you go early enough) you can swim with the sharks, according to Leo. The area around the new hostel, the Golden Pond Guesthouse in Hyehwa, seems pretty cool and interesting. It has a lot of shops, bars and restaurants, however unfortunately there's no room here for al of us, so we're going to have to return to Kim's.

Day 22 - Expensive Mail, Free Clothes

In breif, today we woke up battling Soju hangovers to the sound of drilling (again) and Jose packing. He's managed to pack up his whole life here in a few short hours, and sent it al back to Chile by air mail, at a cost of $2000! He also left us a load of Jeans, shirts, shoes and coats (much of which in branded as belonging to Ulsan Hyundai Tigers) to pick through. As I write this I'm wearing his jeans, Henry's wearing his shirt and jeans, and Leo's sporting a yellow t-shirt of his.

We went f0r the best meal I've yet had in Korea this evening, it was like a normal Barbeque place but they had a tilted gril, letting all the fat run off, and gave us mushrooms and Kimchi to BBQ as well, making everything even nicer than usual.

Day 21 - Jose's News

Today we got the news that Jose could go home, and that he was released form his contract with Ulsan Tigers. He has been overjoyed all day, and has already begun packing. There's a chance we may have to leave tomorrow afternoon, depending on the timing of his flight. To celebrate, we decided to go bowling this evening just down the road. We thought we might do something else to celebrate, so we eore the small hats and suits (ish) for going out. On our way, we realised what day it was - Halowe'en! So basicaly we dressed up by accident, which is slightly odd. When we got to the Bowling alley, we found one of the wierdest bowling systems I have come across (not that I've come across many, but you get what I mean). Everyone at the alley had wristguards on, in either gold or silver, and they were all geting strikes and spares every ball. The guys next to us caled over a member of staff to tel us off for two reasons - 1, we were using their balls (fair enough), and 2, we had to wait our turn to bowl. This means that, despite the fact that we are having our own game on our own lane, we have to wait until the people in the lanes on either side have had their go, so as not to distract them. This, clearly, is far from fair enough, and made the whole game a lot more formal, and as a result a lot less fun.

After the guy who told us off had gone, a bald Korean man came along, and took it upon himself to coach Henry, giving him tips in Konglish about stance and technique. Partly as a result, Henry bowled the best game I have ever seen. HE knocked down every single pin, geting 8 spares and 3 strkies, only missing the last 2 pins, giving him a somewhat unbelievable total of 197! Jose then requested we head home as he was tired, although he then proceeded to spend about three hours on Skype, while we drank Soju in Henry's room.

Day 20 - Stunt Driving and Haircuts

Scratch that, I can hardly move today. Every part of my body is aching, thanks to Leo's thorough workout plan. Jose is better today, he cooked us his speciality salmon this morning, which was awesome. We went to get more supplies at mega market today, during which trip we became more aware of Jose's terrifying driving skills. You know the scene in Withnail and I where Richard E. Grant is swerving in and out of traffic while ...and I is asleep, and when asked what he is doing he replies "making time"? Well, it was a bit like that, so much so it prompted a discussion between Henry and Jose about the legality of undertaking in various countries. This afternoon we went for haircuts (yes, Henry, Jose and myself all went for a haircut together), to somewhere Jose knows to minimise the risk of getting a Korean mullet (I've read bad things about Korean hairdressing). They cut mine to the shortest it's been in about 5 years, I can barely tuck it behind my ears. I'm somewhat sceptical about it now, but I hope I'll learn to love it. Tomorrow we're hopefully going to Mt. Gajisan, for a hike and to see something of Ulsan. Also, Pat is almost definitely coming to Seoul on friday, so I'll spend a week with him, which'll be awesome.

Day 19 - Jose's illness, and the Gym

Jose was ill most of the day today, possibly due to an allergic reaction to Mosquito bites. He was sweating, and talking to Leo in Spanish, as well as crying on the phone, most of which he has no memory of. He's better now, but it was pretty worrying for a while. Henry and I went out to the shop just for something to do while he was upset, to give him some space, while Leo stayed behind in case he was worse off than we thought. On the upside, Jose also cooked us chicken and pasta for breakfast, which was really good. They've been drilling on the roof all day, starting at 8:30 am, which has driven Leo and I mental, as there is no escape from the noise, even though they're four floors above us. We went to the Gym earlier, which was the first time in 5 years for me. We did various free weights, then complexes and jogging, until I could take no more. Leo was advising me on the best fat burning exercises, and what to do to build muscle - I appear to have a personal trainer. It felt good, too, which I wasn't expecting. A new type of tired that I'm not used to.

Day 18 - Failures

Leo and I tried to go to a nearby temple, but were thwarted by the lack of a decent map of this city - the nearest thing we could find was a hand-drawn map that turned out to be nonsense, so we walked past the turning for ages before giving up, which wasted another afternoon. We did have some really nice sushi on the way home, which made the journey more worthwhile. When Jose returned from Seoul, we went into Ulsan to try and find a pub called the Korean Union which apparently does really good fish and chips, but that also failed, so we went to a Wa Bar, bought a pack of cards and played shithead for a while. Jose turned up later, and suggested we relocate due to the presence of some of his teammates who he really didn't want to be around.

Day 17 - Daewongam/Ulgi Park

We went to Ulgi Park, it turned out to be a hell of a lot further than Henry or I had anticipated - at least 5 km from Jose's apartment, so in total we walked at least 10km on Saturday. We climbed some rocks, walked along the beach, found a shop selling sea-knobs (can't think of another word for them) and saw everything there was to see. There are some pictures up in the ...and Ulsan album. After our walk, Henry and I were far too knackered to do anything except lie about in the flat, despite Leo's suggestions of going out on the town, although to be fair we didn't know where we were, let alone the town.

Day 16 - An Observation

Two weeks ago I was just embarking on a round-the-world trip, now I'm staying for free in a Chilean football player's apartment, rent free, without him. Which is odd...

Today we went around the Foreigner's Compound, checking out the facilities - these include an empty pool, a reasonably stocked gym, a bar with a massive pool table and the Hyundai Foreigner's School. Everything appears to be made by Hyundai - Jose's team is called Hyundai Ulsan, there is the Hyundai Hotel round the corner, next to the Hyundai Department Store, and out of the window I can see the Hyundai heavy industry shipyard, part of the biggest shipyard and docks in the world.

Tomorrow we're off to the beach, on our way to Ulgi Park. There are apparently 12 scenic sites to be seen in Ulsan, as designated by the Ulsan tourist board, and I plan to see at least a few of them before we head back to Seoul.

Pat says he's coming out to Seoul next week as well, so I'll be hanging out with him a bit as well, which'll be awesome.

Day 15 - Fives at Mike's, and Ulsan!

Last night we got a message from our friend Kate asking us all to go for a couple of beers at Mike's Cabin at half ten. We accepted, and managed to faff around packing for ages, so we eventually arrived at 11:40, a full 70 minutes late. We are rubbish.

We played fives for ages, rendering both Henry and Leo insensible, and resulting in us going to bed at 4:30, with alarms set for 9. Well done us. We got off this morning without too much trouble, apart from the fact that the other two were useless for the first few hours of the day. Our bus journey was pretty cool, it took 5 hours and we passed through some incredible scenery - even the service station had a perfectly flat lake behind it, reflecting the mountains perfectly.

Ulsan is a strange place, trapped between mountains, which means it has multiple centres - when Jose drove us to the supermarket it took ages, passing from one built-up area to another via big stretches of emptiness. Jose lives in a Foreigner's Compound here, which has its own school, gym, pool, driving range and a few other things, all of which we are going to make full use of tomorrow. He even said we could use his car, but Henry (wisely) doesn't feel too comfortable driving a left hand drive automatic around a strange city which has no street names without an international driving licence.

This place also has a beach, which I'm going to investigate tomorrow, although I don´t think sunbathing is quite on the agenda yet. Also, I may have figured out where I'll be for new year, as Kate is going to be in Northern Thailand, which sounds like fun.

Day 14 - We're on the move, and Photos!

I've had a couple of good days out, first with Henry and then with Leo. Henry's day out consisted of a trip to Itaewon and thereabouts, to go to a western supermarket for Henry, to allow him to buy some cheese, which seems to be the only thing he's really missing about home. We went for an impromptu bowl as well, I won (just).

We went along the main street in Itaewon, looking at the shops and surprisingly large number of westerners wandering about. There's also a place called 'Hooker Hill' which is fairly self-explanatory. We didn't venture up there this time. We went to Dongdaemon stadium as well to look around the market - they have done a really wierd thing there, they've paved over the grass and put in a car park, with market stalls around the edge selling loads of types of wierd crap (which I can't imagine anyone buying), while leaving the seats and grandstands intact.

We went to the mall in the Doosan building too, to get some dinner - we ordered a family meal between two, which turned out to be a load of breaded fried cutlets (pork, fish, prawn, cheese & chicken) and some kimchi-radish, miso soup, spicy spaghetti and a mushroom curry. We only made it about 3/4 of the way through it, before the sheer volume of fried food got the better of us.

Leo went off to the Irish Embassy and got his passport sorted too, meaning employment prospects are on the up. After a nap I went out to NB with Jim, Christine and Minyeong (sic), for a bit of dancing, rather against my better judgement.

Today Leo and I went to the river in the morning, originally to go to the gym, but it was a bit smoggy for exercise, so we went for a long walk instead - along the way we encountered a series of tunnels, which we wandered into, and became terrified of. They went miles under the road, and as we wandered in we came to a barrier, behind which there was loads of water, implying that these were storm drains we had wandered into. Made for some cool pictures though.

This afternoon we went to the Express Bus Terminal, as we're going to Ulsan tomorrow to stay with Jose for a while - he left today, flying down there, whereas we're getting the Express (as opposed to deluxe) bus, for only 19,700 won, about £11 for a 4:30 journey. We went to a foreign language bookstore today, and between us Leo and I bought the Selected Writings of Rene Descartes, Crime and Punishment, Dune, The Postman, and Time Enough for Love by R. A. Heinlein. A good selection of Sci-Fi and intellectual stuff. All of this means we now have to pack and leave, as we're off at 10 am tomorrow.

Also, I've added my facebook albums to the blog, they should appear to the left.

End of Osaka and our Tandem Trip Crabs, Palace, and nights out Tunnels and Cityscapes

Day 12 - Transformers

Since the last entry, the only thing that has transpired is that we went to the CGV IMAX to watch Transformers on the unbelievably massive screen. It was entirely worth the journey, and the failed journey we made the other day as well. Today we went to the severance hospital in Sinchon (which has a Burger King and a Haagen Dasz shop in the lobby) with Leo for his eye check-up, which took about three hours. That is, I'm afraid, all.

Day 11 - Some boozy days

On friday Jim, Steve, Christine and I went hat shopping in Eedae, wandering around the malls and such. After lunch, as we were walking to the Subway stop, Steve suddenly threw up in the street, which was a little odd. Jim and I thought he was just reading something, so we left Christine to deal with him, which on reflection was a little unfair.

Leo and I went to try and watch Transformers at the IMAX in Yongsan, but they wouldn't let us in even though it only started 10 minutes before we got there. We went to the electronics market, but that had all shut, however we did see loads of homeless guys building cardboard coffins to sleep in, many of which were very technical and impressive. Afterwards we drank a load of Soju with Danny in the hostel, and went out to Noise Basement, a club in Hongdae. It was rammed, but really cool - I met a girl in the queue called Michelle, who was from Luxembourg, and who knew Hannah Nerl, who was on my physics course at Uni! Luxembourg is very small, I suppose. Met quite a few cool people in there, although it was unfeasibly hot and sweaty.

I woke up somewhat disoriented and went for a walk, and on my way home I bumped into Jim in the toilet in Hapjeong station. We went out for some food, and ended up going to Mister Donut, and then a Japanese place. We are the most marvellous couple in all of Seoul, or at least we shall be when we are wed (We keep finding ourselves in date situations, eg. on the tandem the other day).

Last night we went to a place called Boom Bar, where they had free drinks for two hours, and free entry for non-koreans! It was full of westerners, all taking full advantage of the free drinks. Henry managed to nail about 10-12 pints in an hour and a half, rendering him utterly bananas. As a result, we have a hell of a lot of new book entries. There was a prize draw which Christine won, meaning she had to enter an enforced dance contest - she pulled out the robot, and won a bottle of J & B whisky, which I think we may get to drink...

Henry insisted we leave to make sure we had enough time to watch the rugby, which we did in a place called Watt's On Tap. It was (obviously) somewhat disappointing, but the taxi back was ridiculous, mainly due to Henry's propensity to speak absolute nonsense pretty much continually.

Might try for transformers again today, although we do have 5 episodes of neighbours to catch up on...

Oh, also, we had a communal nap yesterday evening, along with the swedish girl from our room. Very relaxing, although a little odd.

Day 10 - notes

9 - hat shopping, malls, japanese food, loadfs of soju, dany, NB, erica, michele, H dancing
10 - toilet, marvelous couple, donuts and japanese, free beer, communal nap, rugby

Day 8 - Palaces & Violins

Wow, I've got pretty lax on this already. Rubbish.

On thursday I went to Changdeokgung Palace, which has an incredible 'secret garden' at the back, covering an enormous area of central seoul. I did the self-guided audio tour, which was prety interesting, and spent ages wandering around the garden/woods, returning only to find that I had been sodding rinsed by the mosquitos, with about eight bites on my feet and a further three on my face, which have swollen up nicely and give the impression that I have the plague.

Kate got us free passes to the international family film festival, which was one of the most bizare thing sI've seen. We couldn't find it for ages, and when we eventualy did it consisted of a huge outdoor scren showinng the end of some short film or other, followed by a 'special performance' by Eugene Park, a violinist. He began with some fairly standard stuff, and a slightly cringy cover of my heart will go on, then a girl came on with some dancers and did some awful K-pop song, with him paying violin along with it. Then, out of nowhere, he started rapping, some nonsense begining with "hey yo, what you got...'. He then proceeded to play some madness song or other, at breakneck speed, and flight of the Bumblebee (slightly out of tune) and really really fast. There was then a short film that any one of us could have made, which prompted us to run away and find solace in Japanese Food round the corner. Finaly, we went out to Ho Bar with Jan, Steve and Christine to commemorate (probably not the right word) Jan's last night in Korea.
We taught Christine how to play fives (which she never once lost) and freezemaster (which she rather excelled at also).

All in all, quite a good night.

Day 7 - Climbing and Soju

Yesterday wasn't the most exciting day, but did involve a lot of good food. We went out for Ramen for breakfast, and just sort of hung around the hostel watching films on TV. They have very odd TV here, they Televise games of Starcraft and Warcraft, as well as Go (Even though I've watched a fair bit of it, I stil have no idea how it works).


In the evening Leo and I went to Ewha Women's university to meet Kate, a friend of theirs, to go climbing in the Summit climbing centre. Owing to my massive feet, I ended up being crammed into a pair of size 290 climbing shoes, which were smaller than my feet by a good half inch. It was a lot of fun, although I discovered that I'm rather crap and have no strength in my forearms whatsoever. We went out for dinner and Soju, then on to Mike's Cabin for more Soju, (near Sinchon, right) and I even managed to drink Beer! On our way to meet the others we met a few Korean guys who shared our Soju and gave us some directions, and who we later got to do a 'Ben Bruce' on camera for us. Shortly afterwards we were accosted by two drunk Koreans, who for some reason took a dislike to Jim (we were just walking along a fairly quiet street, minding our own business) and wouldn't leave them alone. We enlisted the help of two Korean businessmen, who tried to dissuade them from attacking us, and all seemed well until the original antagonist ran up behind Jim and launched a flying kick at his back as he walked into a shop! Still Jim ignored him, but then Leo arrived and the guy punched him in the neck out of nowhere, resulting in Jim knocking him over and Leo mounting him and choking him out, thereby stopping the fight. We all walked away up the road, when suddenly the other guy ran up and jumped on us. It was a really weird occurrence, apparently there is never any violence on the streets over here, it just so happened that these guys took an intense dislike to us - even after they had both been floored by Leo, Jim and Jan (all in a very controlled manner, no punches or kicks were thrown, the guys were just taken down and stopped) they kept following us, so we had to take a circuitous route back to the hostel to avoid any further trouble. No one should worry though, apart from this isolated incident there hasn't been any trouble with Koreans at all.

Today has also been a slow one, we just went for dinner near Yongsei university, had really good pork BBQ for only about 6 pounds, and we're now sitting around napping. We didn't get in until about 5 or 6 last night, and apparently that wasn't a big one. Oh dear. Also, I managed about four beers last night, taking my lifetime total to ooh... about five. This will make my life a lot easier and cheaper, as far as going out is concerned anyway. Also, the book of shit has had a lot of new entries recently, Korea appears to be retarding us all.

Day 5 - Seoul! Crabs and Fighter Jets!

We all got up at about 8, to do some packing, and go for brunch at Freshness Cafe, a burger bar in Shinsaibashi. We said goodbye at the Namba bus terminal, as Leona was going to Yokohama as well -I taught them the fish as well. The flight was a bit of a nightmare - because I had changed it over the phone, and it's a paper ticket, she could find no record of it, said it might not work, and made me wait for about an hour at the desk, pissing off the people behind me. The flight itself was fine, but then at the other end I waited for ages in line behind a large african family, all of whom were subsequently taken off into the immigration office, reinforcing the slightly racist sterotype of Koreans, and also shortening my queue by a lot. I called Leo, and met him at the train station (Incheon airport is mental, huge and futuristic).


The Hostel we're staying in, Mrs. Kim's, is pretty cool - we're in the subsidiary house, which means we're not in the same building as Mrs. Kim. We went out for Barbeque, Leo Henry Steve and I, which was really tasty - tons of pork on the griddle in the middle, Kimchi, Beans, Todu, Coleslaw, Lettuce & Nettles, Beers and Soju & Coke, all for W9000 (under £6) each. The whole Ben Bruce thing has really taken off here, Jose Luis (Villanueva, plays football for Chile!) and Farrah have been losing it loads.


Today we got up, had some free toast, and were regaled with stories from last night from Jan and Jim (there is a massive crab in the bottom drawer of the fridge). We went for a walk to get some food, some Korean thing called Kimbup, which is like a long Sushi roll, and was cheap and delicious, and then on towards the World Cup Stadium, down by the river. While we were walking there was a sodding air raid siren! None of the locals seemed very phased, but then fighter jets started going over head and we all got a bit freaked out. It stopped after a couple of minutes, so we calmed down, and Jim started doing an impression of it, and Just as he did it started again! Once again, noone seemed too bothered, so we just waited it out (WHen we got back we looked it up, apparently they have a countrywide drill on the 15th of each month).

It's nice and hot today, shorts weather (I went out in black Jeans, bugger). We rented a couple of Tandems from a stall by the river, which was really fun. We rode along the river for ages, out to an observation deck and back, nearly falling off all the way. We're back at the hostel now, heading into the city later for food and booze, I think. There's a big spider, look!

Day 3 - Kyoto

Domo-Origato-Kasaii-Mas!!!

I know my spelling sucks. That supposedly means thank you very much, by the way. Last night I went to bed at about 2, but didn't get to sleep until about 6 am. Everyone else stayed up until then anyway, so I wasn't too receptive when Les came in to wake me at 8. Jonathan, Leona, Laura and I eventually got off at about 12:30, and got a train to Kyoto, then a bus to the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-Ji) and wandered around. It seemed like it would have been a pretty relaxing place if it hadn't been for the huge crowds of Korean schoolkids.

The pictures to the right show Leona and I, failing to look at the camera at the same time. We rang Les to find out where she was, thought she was coming to where we were, and found out after waiting for ages that she was at Ginkaku-Ji, the Silver temple. Oops. We finally met up with her and her parents around the centre of Kyoto, where we eventually went for a thai meal, very kindly paid for by Mr. Ballantyne. On the way back Les and I dozed off on the train (right), as we were both exhausted and I haven't really slept properly since wednesday. Also, Laura said it took her two weeks to get used to the time difference, which doesn't bode well...

We were planning to play Pachinko when we returned, but everywhere was closed. While this doesn't seem like a very exciting day, it was pretty cool, saw a new city, hung out with some new people etc. The only problem was that I failed to have any Ramen, but I don't have to go to the airport until 12 tomorrow, so there's still time.

Also, I can't get the formatting of this right in any way, but I'm being boring in Laura's room while everyone else is in the living room next door, so I give up.

Day 2 - disaster strikes!

So the company Les works for have screwed them over. They're being evicted on sunday, and having to move to a new flat further out of town, as Nova have not paid the rent for two months, but have been taking it out of their wages nonetheless. Their pay has been delayed by a week, and I've decided to stay until monday to help them move, and also it means I don't have to get up at 6 am to get to the airport, so it's all working out. I got out of the house, the sushi was amazing, I got totally full for ¥700 (only about £3!), then we went all over Shinsabashi and Amemura, seeing loads of shops, Hostos (like Hostesses, but dudes with Rod Stewart hair and cowboy boots) and a few Love Hotels and the odd prostitute, as well as loads of awesomely dressed goth Lolitas, and a huge load of breakdancers outside the OCAT building, who gather there just to practice, it was all very impressive. Now we're hanging out, drinking more convenience store cocktails and chaatting about the problems with Nova. We're going to Kyoto tomorrow! Woo!

Day 2 - the first hangover

It's been an odd few hours, I slept while Les was at work, then got up and went to Namba with her flatmate Laura, drank cans of cocktails (Moscow mule, fuzzy navel etc.) in the plaza for a while, until we decided to go to a club called canon - this is an indie club where loads of Gaijin go every thursday. We snuck in with a bottle of whisky and a bottle of coke, which we hid under a table and swigged from, in a classy fashion. When we walked in, the first thing I see is my mate Josh staring out of a poster! I think it was claiming that the Horrors are playing Osaka on the 27th, which is pretty cool (I don't think anyone believed me when I said I knew him).


I snuck out to get cheap drinks from the convenience store opposite, and got chatting to a few guys, from all over the place. Everyone I have met seems really cool, I'm impressed. The toilets here have a very clever innovation on top - as the cistern refills, it passes through a sink on top, thereby reducing waste enormously, and saving loads of space.

Now, after we left the club, at about 5:30 am, we wandered the streeets looking for food, and we found a Yoshinoya! From what I can remember, the food was delicious, and I discovered that I can use chopsticks when drunk and exhausted. When we got to the subway, I started sliding down the handrail, and managed to rotate very slowly and fall off, landing square on my face, twisting my neck (which hurts quite a lot today). This was not the worst bit though - on my way down I managed to kick Laura in the face and neck, leaving a big red footprint, and causing her to fall over, bruising her arm. I kicked a girl full in the face on my first day. That's pretty bad, by anyone's standards. Luckily, she was very forgiving, and there aren't really any visible marks.

Today has been spent lying on the sofa feeling like utter crap - Les and Laura have gone to work, so Leona's taking me out for Sushi in a minute, which is cool - provided my somewhat shredded digestive system can take it. This is not aided by the fact that I feel really awkward pooing in girl's houses.

Day 1 - I've been found!

Phew, that was exhausting. I got off the plane, found the bus, couldn't get through to Les, got Clare to email her, still nothing, guessed that the right thing to do was to get the bus to Namba, sat on the bus for an hour, still couldn't get through, get a call from Clare worrying about me, then eventually get a call from Les saying she's on her way to get me, then we decide that's a bad idea, I get the tube (which seems to be almost identical to the Paris Metro) to Kitakagaya station, where I (finally) run into Les's open arms. She's gone to work until 10:40 tonight, when we're going out, I think. I'm sitting in her living room while her flatmate Leona is asleep in the other room, listening to the Chris Moyles podcast. Right, time for a wash, I've been travelling for 20 hours. Maybe it's nap time, too...

Day 1 - thoughts from the plane

2 hours in: The first meal has just arrived, on the flight from Heathrow to Osaka. It's Japanese style grilled beef with rice, and tastes exactly like Yoshinoya's, which I had at least three times a week in HK. The wine's not bad either - this is a good omen, I feel...

Also, the chap next to me is wearing a Mad Capsule Markets t-shirt, while I am sporting a Dattebayo one - we are both clearly fans of Japan, albeit in a somewhat geeky way.

4 hours in: I have just watched Die Hard 4, and got quite into it. When it finished, I looked at the flight map, expecting us to be somewhere over Siberia, but no, we're barely past Denmark, and I'm crammed into a tiny seat with my knees around my chin. Boo. The Stewardess is hot though, so it's not all bad.

5 hours in: Everything's coming up Pincess - having requested an exit seat, got all baffled at check-in and ended up with a window seat, I now have a row all to myself! After the lights went out, I went to the loo (I'm only 5 hours into this odyssey, adn my innards are already fighting me) and noticed a few empty seats. I asked the aforementioned hot Stewardess if there were any free rows, and then persuaded her to take the occupied signs off the row reserved for emergency ill people. I mean, it's only 5'6" long, but it's certainly an improvement.

6 hours in: The remit for Japanese sweets appears to be "taste as unlike anything Matt's ever had as possible, while still remaining based on a foodstuff". I've just had a packet of small yellow cylinders which turn into fruity chalk the second I bite them, a spicy rice cracker the size of the palm of my hand, and what I can only describe as a pickled apricot, all individually wrapped. Also, I've had about 5 cups of green tea since I got on this plane. We're currently over Siberia, and the whole country looks as if it's been frosted over, the mountains look like giant snowflakes from the air. It's pretty awesome.

Day 0

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Well, that's it. I've said goodbye to my Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, Caitlin, Sian, Gabe, Mich and Mart, everyone from Uni, everyone from home, and now Clare and I are off on a three hour mission to Heathrow, as the travelling begins in earnest. I've repacked hundreds of times, watched my last Neighbours for a good few months, eaten my last Chorizo, dairy products etc. and am starting to feel sad about the whole thing. I have had crying cousins, Grandma and Mum so far, all of whom have made me feel thoroughly awful about running away.

However, I'm sure this will all fade the second I arrive in Osaka into Lesley's open arms. Aah, Les.

Day -7

I am here - Clare's House

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I am here

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Day -8, not -9...

Well, the last two days have been awesome. Had a farewell dinner with Tim, JK, Birdie, Joe and Bruce last night, then a family one tonight, and may have got a job as an extra in a film on sunday and monday - hence I have to leave somerset a day early to go for a fitting. Some changes to my plans have also become necessary, due to problems with availability of flights. In fact, here is my current itinerary (with surface sectors excluded), although pretty much all dates may well change:

I seem to be pretty much packed as well, and my bag weighs only 16 kg - meaning I won't have to distract the check-in staff while taking some of the weight on my knee, as I had to on my return journey from Hong Kong.

Day -11

Well, I am no closer to leaving, as I have just spent a lot of the last two days drunk in Hemyock, and swimming in 16° water. Preparations in earnest shall begin tomorrow, somewhere in between the chiropractor and doctor's appointments.

The weekend has not been entirely useless though, as I did achieve this --->

Soaking wet, in a cowboy shirt, drinking wine and wearing a Koala head. Ben Bruce.

Day -13

As I should have predicted, I have just spent the last few hours dicking about with interactive route maps and the HTML layout of this page (making it a bit wider, changing the background, putting pictures in and so on), while achieving none of the goals I set for myself earlier. Not even getting rid of the flowers. Fail.

Day -14

Right, first post... I have decided, after discussion with my Mum, to settle on the entirely arbitrary date of the 11th of October for my departure. This has upset my little sister, as it is 4 days before her 17th birthday, but I'm sure she'll get over it.

Things to do before departure include...

1. Finalise ticket booking
   
2. Sort out travel insurance
   
3. Go to the doctors for jabs and the like
   
4. Go to the chiropractor again, in preparation for hours on planes in tiny seats (regardless of the airline, the seats always seem to be designed for people 5'8" and under)
   
5. Choose what to take with me, narrowing down my pile of 68 decent T-shirts
   
6. Think about productive things to do in each country
   
7. Pack, and go to London for a week to say goodbye to everyone necessary
   

...and a few other bits and bobs, as well as hundreds of things I'm sure I've forgotten.

Wish me luck. If you want.

1. -edit- Figure out how to change these gay little flowers into numbers. Although this comes pretty far down the list.