Boracay (part three)

Continuing the story of the Philippines.

Towards the middle of our trip, during the night I had an misanthropic visitor.  I could feel the bite, but I didn't feel his disease fraught limbs crawling across my face.  Waking up, I could feel that something about my eye wasn't right.  It wasn't painful, but it was obviously swollen, tightened and tender.  A glance in mirror begat an infantile scream.  Not only did my hair stick out in all directions (as it usually does in the morning) resembling a Medusa do, but to add to that initial hideousness, my eye had swollen to resemble Quasimodo.
The friendly staff at the "Blue Mango" gasped in horror. I felt seriously disfigured, and self-conscious that it looked like our romantic honeymoon had gone violently array ending in my swollen eye.  Immediately, after I insisted that my husband had not abused me, they suggested the culprit was a cockroach.  I blew it off, until two other Phillippinos suggested the same thing.  So I googled it.  Cockroaches do bite.  And they typically bite near the eye!  Conclusion: Who knows, but I sure as hell have an increased fear of those radioactive-immune critters.

Every morning, as part of our package, a free breakfast, American or Phillippino style, according to our choice, was delivered to our room.  A delicious breakfast, on a balcony overlooking the magnificent the great blue is a fantastic way to gear up the day, with or without a swollen eye that makes you look like the pitiful partner in a disparaging relationship.  It sure beats seaweed soup, rice and kimchi in the school cafeteria.

You'll never believe the vintage shirts in Korea.  Love them.

The morning of my transformation from honeymooner to Quasimodo hiding behind my movie star glasses, we went on a island hopping trip.  First stop was "Crystal Cove."  An island with caves, coves and amazing views.

The wildlife was amazingly friendly. 

Someone was hungry so he bought seaweed flavored Pringles.  They don't even offer that flavor in Korea, but if they did, you better believe we would be buying that delicious green chip everyday.

We stopped to suck on the juice of a coconut.  It wasn't as sweet as I expected it to be.

One of the islands, boys surrounded our incoming boat as a recreational hobby.  They were like fish, born to the water, but occasionally climbing on the arms of he boat.  I especially enjoyed their entertainment when leaving the harbor.  They climbed onto the outer balancing arm, sang a "K pop" song "Nobody but you" and backflipped into the water.  It's on the video when we get it back up on youtube.

Our guide, stopping to allow us time for snorkeling dove into the aquatic blue  to deliver treasures from the deep. This puffer fish surprisingly never showed his displeasure by puffing. We passed him around and were allowed to pet him. He was squishier than I expected.

Two different kinds of starfish were also part of the treasure collection.  They were all thrown back to their homes in the end, alive and well.

This shy child sat taciturn watching the foreigners but refusing to speak.  She was adorable though.

After asking where the best place for seafood, we were directed to the wet market called "Di talipapa"  Here you could purchase your seafood live or dead, depending on your wallet and desire, take it to any of the nearby restaurants and for a small price have them cook it for you.  We choose a dead lobster.  It was delicious both in my mouth and in my wallet.

the restaurant we choose was teeming with folks.

sharing a beer that I could only stomach with three or four slices of lime masking the flavor.

Kyle's Icebreaker and a super cool vid!

A while ago Vanessa put a post up of a game called 2 truths and a lie. For those of you who saw it and never got the answer, the lie was that she met Cher while working at Disney. Cher winked at ME one day while on a private tour of Animal Kingdom.

So here's my 2 truths and a lie for you guys to guess at.
1. I have eaten Monkey Brains!
2. I'm a Gleek!
3. I've been to every continent except Antarctica!

We got a very limited amount of comments on the last one, so we are gonna try this one more time, I think this could be fun if we had a lot of participation. So comment on which you think is the lie and post your own 2 truths and a lie, ESPECIALLY YOU FAMILY!

And here's a cool vid Vanessa's aunt Pam sent to us that we thought was just awesome!
The story is that this is a real instrument assembled mostly from irrigation and agricultural machinery and equipment! Unfortunately, that was a hoax, it's computer animation but still, that's some pretty awesome animation!

Funny signs in Korea

 Korea is full of interesting uses of English and differences in culture.  Sometimes those differences make life difficult, sometimes though, they make us laugh.  Here are some signs that made us laugh.  In case you missed some of the others from the past, click here.

I know I want my bank to be full of B.S.!!

This was found as part of the decoration in the preschool.  Look closely.  Yea... not appropriate for any school aged kid.

Remember when we were talking about squatters instead of toilets?  Well this sign shows you how to use one accurately.

I can't take credit for this one.  My friend Amy took this picture, but it is priceless.

Who knows what this is trying to say... sometimes.. I go park...  People, ask an English speaker before you name you pay LOTS of money for signs above your restaurant.

Trip to Busan Continued

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea and it shows. The city is a thriving Metropolis of hillsides covered in neon lights, speckled with high rise apartments. From a tall building it looks like a sea of rust with tall spires poking through. A few hillsides have been left bear giving the city a "natural" touch that somehow feels manufactured and the only thing holding the chaos from flowing out over the water are a few sandy beaches. I could easily see this place being the site of some post-apocalyptic urban nightmare film but for now, it does retain a since of beauty that is hard to describe.

For me, all big cities hold a feeling of strangely mixed atmospheres. There's an odd since of security that comes from knowing that all your basic needs are covered in a city. But walking through streets of neon signs and cafes that all start to look the same, there's an oppressing since of insignificance that lingers in the back of my mind. Busan however has a vibe very different from Seoul. People often refer to Busan as the San Francisco of S.K. while Seoul is N.Y. I would completely agree with the NYC comparison, but having never been to San Francisco I can only speculate. Busan is coastal for one thing and all coastal cities seem to have a more relaxed attitude. But Busan is also a giant port for international shipping, the 10th largest in fact and it's insanely crowded. In the port districts cranes and docks hide any land they are built on and there's an overwhelming since of the city being one giant machine. But it's the other parts of the city that give it it's reputation as being the "cool city" in Korea.
Like any thriving coastal city it has a huge fish market where people from all over the world gather to see the calloused old fish mongers at work.

But the boorish manner of the fishers doesn't really capture the vibe of Busan. The city is fast paced, like any other South Korean metropolis but there's parts of the city where time seems to slow down and the yin balances the yang.



And while downtown Busan retains it's busy pace, the outskirts offer some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Korea.

We stayed in what is called a "love motel" (so called for the young people who otherwise don't have privacy from living with their parents until they are married)

So cute.  This little girl is dressed in a hanbok , the traditional dress in Korea, for lunar new years.

We accidentally visited this memorial for the soldiers who died in the Korean war, but it was quite lovely and moving.

our friends.  We were surprised to see how many countries were involved in the war.

I wanted to capture the flags' reflections.  Can you see them?

A rocky beach which was lovely.

the lighthouse we visited on the our boat ride.

the boat was cold.

a fake humpback whale. You gotta love korea.

At the fish market there many types of seafood.  Some we didn't recognize....

Yep, octopus. 

It makes your mouth water right?

Busan is a must see for anyone visiting South Korea in my opinion. While I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly about the 2nd largest city that makes it so different and special, the vibe is there for anyone willing to slow down and look for it.

Busan for the Holiday

Hey everybodeh!

Vanessa and I are down in Busan for the Lunar New Year holiday. This is one of the few big holidays we get here in Korea and this year they gave us a whole week off!! We spent the first part of it back home just chilling and getting our apartment back in order. Then on Weds we headed south for a trip with some of our co-workers and have had a blast. I will post a new one with pics when we get back but for now, here's a funny video my mom sent me. Enjoy!