Busan, South Korea (a.k.a. Pusan)

This trip was a short one. It was a Saturday-Sunday trip. We needed to get away. Most of the holidays in Korea this year land on weekends so we haven't had time off to do anything and decided we needed a break.

We went with a friend of ours named Bryan. We found a nice spot on a walk way where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.


We went on a ferry to see a lighthouse on a rock island. The seagulls followed us the whole way.

This is Busan from a distance. People were feeding the gulls so the birds were swarming the back of the boat.

Check out the gull in the lower left front. He caught some of the food right out of the air. If you need to, click on the picture to get the full size.

Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia (Pulau means island)

On our last day on the island we stopped to take a few pics of some monkeys we noticed down the road. Kristin told me to look to the left and there were about 25 or so monkeys that came out after we had stopped.


We went snorkeling at Pulau Payar, a nearby island, and part of the tour was a shark feeding show. A little before leaving the island I noticed the sharks swimming near the jetty and took some picks. The sharks are pretty small, a couple feet long or so.


Jungle pic from the top of one of the mountains on the island.


Just us with jungle background.


Sunset at the beach where we stayed.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This pic shows some of the old colonial buildings sitting next to the modern ones.


Some of the details on a Taoist Temple. Many of the Taoist temples have similar art work.


Inside the Taoist Temple.


Muslim Mosque. There are many mosques in Kuala Lumpur and are all very beautiful. The domes on some of them are colored.


Petronas Towers at night.

Royal Palace in Seoul

These are some pics of the Royal Palace in Seoul. They still change the guard and you can stand next to the guards to get pictures. If you can come at the right time of fall the leaves are beautiful.

These pics were taken in November 2008.

Sinheungsa Temple near Seoraksan

These were taken at Sinheungsa Temple. The closest of 2 temples near Seoraksan.

Sokcho, the town near Seoraksan

This mart has achieved the impossible. They have squeezed an extra hour out of a day.

Our first time ordering food. Risa was able to come Yeah!

Oops! We thought we were conservative in our ordering. We ended up with extra dumplings and enough soup for 10 people.

Almost made it out for the sunrise...well missed it by a few hours.

Mmmmm fresh squid!

Random - Subway

This is a typical subway ride. Usually we are lucky enough to find a seat for Kristin, but I often have to wait awhile to get a seat.

Random - Urinal

This is a first for me. I have never seen handicap urinals before!

Dongdaemun Market

Here are a couple shots of the tent and outside area of Dongdaemun Market. The market is usually much larger, but the land where the market is usually held is under construction to accommodate a massive new market.

We were hoping to find some nice goodies for souvenirs, but since the market is under construction most of the shops still up are selling 'foreign' clothes or accessories.

Side streets

This is typical for a side street view. Very cramped with barely room for cars to squeeze past. And look at the electrical wires. Yikes!

Also look at the trash pile! They do not have trash pickup like in the US. Here you buy one bag for food waste and another bag for regular trash then set them out on the street. Some areas always stink due to the trash waiting all week to be picked up. In our neighborhood we set our recyclable items out on the curb in a plain bag. There are people, usually older from what I have seen, that make their living off of gathering recyclables and turning them in.

The walk to Kids' College

These are some of the things we see on a regular basis between work and home.

It seems like half the vendors have spots they use everyday like the first picture. The others set up in different places around town, like the second picture. The third picture is someone selling stuff from their garden.

Also a side note, I have not seen any cement sidewalks yet. All the sidewalks I have seen around Seoul have been brick like those in the pictures.

Hikers

You're not a real hiker unless you're prepared!

It's hard to see it from these pics, but the hikers almost always carry retractable walking sticks. The really serious ones have two sticks and full hiking gear. The fellow in the first pic has his stick strapped to his bag, if you click on the pic you can see it up close.

The Ajimas (Korean Mothers)

These pics show some of the common garb you will see the Ajimas wearing. Notice how there is very little skin showing. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you will see one covered literally from head to toe with not a bit of skin showing. Some wear visors that act like sunglasses so you can't even see their faces. Now mind you, it was hot and humid out when these pics were taken.

Even though Ajima refers to any Korean mother it is usually only used when referring to the older women.

Babies going to school.

All three of these kids are 2 to 3 years old.