Asian Adventure: part 6... finale

After 2 weeks of traveling, we made it back to Korea in one piece. What an amazing trip it was. But, my girls were still in Korea for 2 more full days,woo hoo!! I found out the day they arrived that I wasn't allowed to come to school for 7 days after being abroad. I had to be on quarantine for Swine Flu; an extra week vacation!! We came back Sunday night and woke up early Monday to go to the folk village. I went there during my orientation, the first week I arrived in Korea; it's a good place to see traditional housing, dress and dance. Then after, of course, we did a little last minute shopping in Seoul. Tuesday they went on the DMZ tour, same as the one I did a few months ago. They went on the tour while I stayed home and did some errands and slept, hehe! (originally I thought I had would have to work that day, so I didn't sign up) When they got back we met up with Rebekah G and went out for Korean dinner once more. When we got home, they surprised me with a delicious ice cream cake!!! and yes, we ate the whole thing!! Oh, and we got free visors off some cereal we bought; we rocked them at the folk village!

It's been two weeks since they left now and boy, it's been a long two weeks. Michelle was first to leave on Wednesday. I did pretty good holding back tears until she left. I know I will be seeing her so soon in NZ!!! Sarah and I had a few hours to hang around before she had to leave me. I also did a pretty good job holding it in until she left, but once she was out the door, I balled. I didn't want it to end. I had 3 weeks of constant fun and now I was in my apartment and it was so quiet. I realized how great of friends they are and how comfortable I am being with them. We did so many amazing things in 3 weeks!
I don't have long now until I leave Korea. I think that makes it even harder. School is out for vacation, so beside one week of English camp, I just sit in my classroom for a few hours each day, by myself, and then come home. Plus, EVERYONE, all my friends I mean, are on vacation. Most people took their holiday in August, so it is really quiet around here. The calm after the storm. I'm getting use to it now and I'm getting more and more excited about what's to come. Plus, I have one more fun adventure before I leave...Japan!! I have started packing up some of my things now and I can't stop thinking about how fast time goes by; another year almost gone. I'll miss it here, I know; but I also can't wait for the next step.

Asian Adventure: part 5

Cebu, Philippines:
The last leg of the trip was to Cebu, one of the over 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines. We met up with my friend Rebekah, who had been to a couple different islands before meeting up with us. We flew into the main city, Cebu city. We met up with a girl Rebekah had met and she helped us rent scooters!! Scooters round 2!!!

We didn't do too much planning about where we wanted to go, but just that we wanted to head to the southwest. We drove along the coast for a while and then through the mountains which had the most lush, green forests. As we passed the tons of little villages along the road, we were bombarded with greetings. As soon as anyone caught sight of us, 4 white girls doubled up on scooters driving through the middle of no where, all you could hear was shouting, "HELLOO!" They would jump up and down and wave. We later found out that half of the attention was because we were white, the other half is that it is VERY rare for women to drive scooters in the Philippines; apparently it's thought of as too dangerous for women ;)

We made our way down the west coast and while we were driving saw a sign for a waterfall, so we veered off. And wow, what a detour! It was less than a dollar to get into the area and there was no one there but us. The waterfalls were huge and the water was the most amazing blue color. We put on our swimsuits and jumped in to wash all the dust off of us. You may be able to see how dirty our faces are in the first photo...sunglass dust tans. At the big waterfall, the last picture, there was a bamboo raft waiting for us to play on. We look so little!

After playing, we drove a little longer and found Moalboal, a small town about 3 hours from the city on the southwest coastline. As we were driving we just happened upon a backpackers hostel and they flagged us down. Perfect! We ended up staying in Moalboal 2 nights before heading back to Cebu city. In Moalboal, there was an adventure tour company that did daily outdoor trips. We signed up for "River Climbing" up the Kawasan Falls thinking, "how do you climb a river?" Oh...My...God. That trip was by far the scariest thing I have ever done. It started out easy enough; walking along the river, swimming in the pools. But, what you don't see in these pictures is the intense part. I swear, if you did this trip any other place, you would have helmets on and be harnessed in. We climbed over rocks with raging rapids and climbed along rocky, wet ledges with nothing but rocks under us. I have always been scared of heights a little, but I try to push myself by doing things like bungee jumping and parasailing. But this was just me and nature and there were so many time I thought I couldn't do it. And well, at the end we had a big feast and I was glad it was over. It was tons of fun, but the scariest thing I have ever done.

Here are a few pictures from around Moalboal. Being in Moalboal was the closest I've ever felt to being a celebrity. After two days, everyone said hi to us as we walked by. We were known as, "The girls." The people in that town were so nice to us, none of us wanted to leave.

We came back to Cebu city with 2 days before our flight home. The drive back was an adventure in itself. It is monsoon season here, and it showed that day. We all had our ponchos on, had to take a break for a little while during the heaviest downpour, but we made it back safe and sound. Back in the city we met up with the girl who helped us rent the scooters and went out one night with her and her friends. Sarah also had a friend of a friend who lived in Cebu city that we met up with the following day. We did a spa day and I got my first pedicure ever!!($1.50) and a hair trim ($3). woo hoo!

I will definitely be coming back to the Philippines. It's just one of those paradise places, like Greece, or Thailand. I saw only one little island, but I can imagine how beautiful everywhere else must be. The thing that attracts me most though is the people. Though we all stood out and were noticed by all, it wasn't the uncomfortable kind of stares. It was mostly people smiling saying hello and just wanting to talk. Anytime we asked for helped, or even if we didn't ask, we'd have 5 people helping us. I love the Philippines!!

Asian Adventure: part 4

Hong Kong:
We made it to Hong Kong by the afternoon and were ready to go. That evening we went to Victoria peak to see the skyline at night. I think Hong Kong has the best skyline of any city I've seen. It was a highlight. We went another evening as well, this time along the Victoria Harbour, just missing the light and music show by seconds. It was beautiful anyways!

One of our days in HK, we took a ferry to Macau. Macau, like Hong Kong, is technically a special administrative region of China, so they aren't their own country, but they also are separate from China. We found a tourist map of the area telling us where all the site were and pretty much walked around the entire city; one side to the other and back; it was so HOT that day too. Macau was administered by the Portuguese until 1999, so a lot of it looked very European. All of the signs were in Chinese and Portuguese and the buildings and plazas reminded me a lot of Lisbon. It was not what I expected a place in China to look like! Macau is also known for their casinos, but I didn't think they were picture worthy. The last picture in this set doesn't look as European as most of Macau. We spent an hour or so in a beautiful park with ponds full of koi fish and lily pads. The park also happened to be displaying a photography exhibit, so that kept us busy for a while too.

Back in Hong Kong, we of course did more shopping!! Like the rest of China there are markets on every other corner. Half of the information in the guide books were different markets or shopping areas to see. It was ok by me; I love markets. We spent a lot of time wondering around streets looking at all the clothes, jewelery, fake handbags, and people of course. I don't think I've ever bought as much stuff for myself on any trip I've been on as I have this one. Especially in HK, I loved all the signs, lights,and hustle and bustle.

Our last day in Hong Kong, before our flight that evening, we made our way out to the country side to see the Tian Tan Buddha. We took a train and bus to make it out there, but it was a nice ride through the country after being in one big city after the other. The big Buddha was indeed quite enormous! Can you see me? Also, while waiting for our next train we walked along the beach and saw a beautifully carved dragon boat.

Hong Kong was more than I expected. Not that I knew what to expect. I had an image that it would be just another big city, but I was surprised. It had personality and the people seemed so alive. It was also nice because it was so international, more like what I'm use to.

Asian Adventure: part 3

Shanghai:
Just before our trip we heard that there would be a total eclipse in the vicinity of Shanghai on the 22nd of July, the day before we were suppose to arrive in the city. We decided to change our plans and go a day early in hopes of seeing the eclipse. The weather forecast was dismal and we heard there were big crowds expected in Shanghai, so we opted for a smaller city nearby called Suzhou. We took the overnight train from Beijing and made it in plenty of time to see the 9:30am eclipse. We went to one of the city gardens and hoped the clouds and rain would hold out. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible and we couldn't see the sun at all. But, it was still cool because it went from a morning light to complete darkness for a full 6 minutes. We sat out in the rain anyways. These are some pictures in the garden, which was awesome in it's self. We had a bit of time to waste until the eclipse because our train arrived really early, so we had a picnic and photo shoot in the rain.


After spending most of the day in Suzhou walking around and visiting a couple of gardens and becoming completely soaked (especially Michelle who had forgotten her umbrella!!), we took an evening train to Shanghai. Shanghai is the largest city in China with over 20 million people, just in case you were wondering! but still smaller than Seoul. On our first day there we took a city tour that our hostel offered. It took us to all the big attractions. We first went to the top of the Oriental Pearl tower to get an overview of the city. Then we went to the Jade Buddha Temple. Our guide told us a lot about the meanings of the different kinds of Buddhas. There were also lots of people worshiping with incense and bows. Another one of the things on the tour was to go to a pearl outlet. They were trying really hard to get us to buy some pearls so they even did a little show for us. They showed us how they get fresh water pearls by opening an oyster right in front of us. The last stop on the tour was to Yuyuan market. It was a huge, crowded market with all the shops overflowing into the streets. I got a few gifts from here!! But the architecture alone was a sight.

The following day we took ourselves around the city to take a look at the few things we didn't see. We strolled along Nanjing road, Shanghai's most popular shopping street, with all of it's millions of shops and people, to end up at The Bund. The Bund is a famous area in Shanghai known for it's European style architecture. The area stretches along the coast of the Huangpu River and I can only imagine how nice of an area it would be. However, unfortunately for us, it was under renovation so most things were closed, had scaffolding, or were fenced off.

That night we went to an acrobatic show. WOW!! It was so amazing. The stuff these people could do was unreal. They did all kind of ridiculous contortionist stuff, over the top stunts, balancing acts. I sat with my mouth wide opened the whole time.
The following day we did a bit more exploring and shopping. We had to get ready for our 20 hour train ride to Hong Kong that evening, so of course we bought lots of food to keep us busy. When I found out that the the train was 20 hours long, I was a little discouraged, but honestly, it went by quite quickly. We slept for about 8 hours of it, ate for probably 2, read books, did crosswords, took 2 naps, and of course chatted. It so happened that in our bunk room were 2 British guys, so we shared our stories and they shared theirs. Not bad at all!

Asian Adventure: part 2

Beijing:
We left Korea on Sunday the 19th for Beijing. I think Beijing is the place I was looking forward to most because I've always wanted to visit the Great Wall. Our first day there we went to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. The photos really don't do the place justice. Both the square and the Forbidden city were massive and it seemed like you'd never be able to see it all. It was both beautiful and eerie.

The following day we did a day trip to the Great Wall. Instead of taking a bus there, snapping a few photos, and driving back, we opted for the hiking trip. It was an 8k hike (a small bit considering it's 6,700k long) and man, it was an intense hike! I didn't expect it to be so steep. I had hear that it had a lot of stairs, but I never realized how difficult parts of it were. I can't believe people built this thing! We took a cable car to the start and ziplined off of it at the end. I took tons of photos of the Wall; I guess I was in awe that I was really there.


One evening we went to see the Bird's Nest and Water Cube Olympic buildings. The last summer Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008, and the area was really nice and modern. They even took the best of care with the grass, notice the plaque!

Another day we went to the Temple of Heaven. It's a Taoist complex where the emperors would come to pray and have ceremonies. Just like Tienanmen and the Forbidden City, this place was massive. It was completely walled in with many different temples and a huge park area.


These last photos are from the Hutong were our hostel was. A Hutong is an old neighborhood made up of a complicated series of alley ways, side streets and courtyards. The buildings were all so old and beautiful, but also extremely easy to get lost in!