Our flights are booked! It took a lot of persuasion, constant nagging and rather bullish behaviour to get our boss to book them but he finally did. Well, sort of, he conveniently forgot his credit card so we booked them anyway and made him pay us back. We leave Korea at 1300 hours on Friday April 30th which means our last working day will be April 29th. It's a pretty long and arduous journey- we stop twice in China and then stay overnight in Jakarta before flying to Denpasar in Bali the next morning. When I think about flying in my head it makes me feel excited and I forget how terrified I am of landing, which is a fear I have rather sadly developed in the last couple of years. Old age is setting in, I can feel it- the things that I found exciting when I was a youth now petrify me...and I'm only 24. And it's not just plane travel, I hate fast drivers too and bus rides in Asia that are always stupidly trecherous. I sit in my seat with my fists clenched and my palms sweating praying to something that I will arrive at my destination in one piece. What will I be like when I'm 30? On our flight to Bali we will have four landings in total which is a terrifying thought. The last time I flew on a plane without Lee I had to hold the hand of the lady who was sitting next to me. She didn't seem to mind but I really shouldn't make a habit of it. However, I do love in-flight meals so that makes up for the fear factor of flying. And my brother will be arriving in Indonesia the same day as we do to meet us and spend two wonderful weeks holidaying with us in the tropics.
We have a rough plan...it has changed since the last 'itinerary update' I wrote. We were going to spend time in Bali to begin with, but having spoken to a few discerning people that had been there and read a few bits and pieces, we have decided to head away from the mass of alcohol fueled tourists and head to Lombok and Gili Meno instead. I'm sure there will be abrasive drunken tourists everywhere, but I also think that most of the people searching for an alternative to the Costa del Sol are pretty lazy and won't venture any further than where the first bus drops them. I remember going to beautiful Studland beach in Dorset when I was a kid. All the massive fatties with their Burger King 'meals' used to swarm the first 50 metres of the beach and then there was all this glorious white sand (the bit before the nudy area) where only the healthy and imaginitive ventured. It never made sense to me. Anyway, back to the point- we're heading to Lombok and Gili Meno where there should be the same idyllic beaches but less idiots. Lombok is a Muslim island located in Nusa Tenggara and is the island directly East of Bali. We've booked accommodation at Santai Beach Inn for the three of us when we first arrive. This is in Sengiggi which is on the Western side of the island and we're going to stay here for a few days before taking a ferry to The Sunset Gecko, our accommodation on Gili Meno.
I can't imagine how I am going to feel when I leave South Korea. I've been wondering if there is anything that I will truly miss. I'd say I'm a pretty adaptable person, I enjoy things whilst I have them but I don't normally find myself yearning after them when I'm gone. That goes for most things apart from food. I really have missed the variety of food on offer in the UK and I dream of cheese and coleslaw baguettes from The Butter Pat in Bath daily. I miss cooking. I love cooking so much and I was getting quite good at it before I came here. But now we don't have an oven we can't do any baking and fried and boiled food gets rather tedious after awhile. In terms of missing things in Korea though, and leaving people out of the equation, there isn't a great deal that I will pine for. I will miss my hamsters a lot. And I will miss being surrounded by mountains because they do have an uplifting, almost magical feel to them. But there will be mountains where we are heading... I won't miss teaching in a Hagwon that's for sure and I won't miss Gimhae and all the other concrete cities that exist in Korea. I can't wait to visit a city which isn't made out of concrete. There are some Korean dishes, such as Samgyetang, that I really like- but generally speaking I won't be hankering after Korean cuisine the way I fantasise about eating pasta with bacon and blue cheese, fish n chips, fajitas, chicken korai and, of course, a Cornish pasty. I will miss the weather here, it's been wonderful to live somewhere that experiences four very distinct seasons. Knowing that there will be a warm summer when my toes feel numb with cold is much nicer than wondering if I'll ever experience temperatures over 20 degrees celsius again (the way I used to feel in Britain.) And, of course I will miss being able to not worry about money. Working in Korea has helped my bank balance dramatically and I have been able to live a very comfortable lifestyle here which would be great if I liked my surroundings. Maybe if I was returning to Britain immediatly I would feel a little fonder of Korea, but because I am much more excited about our trip, I just can't wait to leave. And, having been to South East Asia before I know what to expect and I cannot wait. To me, Korea just seems quite bland and sterile compared to the excitement and diversity of somewhere like Vietnam.
Sorry Korea.
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