I was doing quite well at writing frequent updates, but I am afraid I have been quite busy the last month so I haven't had time to dedicate to writing a new entry. So, apologies that this one is a bit late.
We have four weeks left here now and I have to say I'm feeling quite fond of Korea at the moment. Winter is over and the days are warming up now. The sunshine is bright and it's warm enough to walk around with a light jacket on in the day times. The streets are lined with various different trees all covered in a blanket of blossom which is a refereshing change to the bleakness of winter. The pearly coloured magnolia is particularly pretty and the scent of the flowers is fresh and strong. It definitely breeds optimism. I have to say that I have really enjoyed living somewhere that experiences four very distinct seasons. I like change and I have found that clear-cut seasons have helped me to feel like things are moving forwards.
We have been hiking every weekend and I'm pleased by how much fitter I feel and how spending time outside can make me feel so positive. For me, nothing beats a long walk in beautiful surroundings on a crisp but sunny day. There are two places that we hike to- both are mountains, though I'm not entirely sure what the difference between a hill and a mountain is. The places we climb have definite summits and are known locally as mountains, so i'll stick with it (mainly because it sounds impressive.) The first one that we climbing is the closest mountain to our house and probably one of the smallest. It's called 'Imho-San' and at the top is a pretty pagoda that you can sit and have a picnic in. I've never had a picnic in it, but the idea is nice. The mountain is densely wooded and half-way up there is an exercise park which always baffles me! It doesn't take long to hike it- we can be up and down in about an hour and a half. The other mountain that we frequently climb has an observatory at the top where you can look at the star constellations at night. Again, I have never been there at night- but it's a nice idea. It's much steeper and longer than Imho-San and I always feel like I've really challenged my body by the time I get to the top of it. It takes us about three hours to get up and down. We normally reach the summit and then make our way across the top of the mountain to a large curved stone wall that was built for a television drama. It's really quite stunning to look at and on a good day you can stand on it and see for miles. Though last week the locals told us it was a popular place to commit suicide which tainted the beautiful view that I saw when I peered over the edge and looked down. We intend to do a lot of walking and hiking on our trip including the Annapurna circuit in Nepal so we want to try and get as fit as possible before hand.
We've started the process of readying ourselves for the next seven months or so. We now have our malaria tablets and have booked various flights and accommodation for our time in Indonesia. I think we'll go with the flow and won't book anything else too far ahead for the remainder of the trip. Indonesia is a bit different as we're covering quite a bit of land whilst we are there and we have to book a flight out to show them that we are leaving in order to obtain a visa. Very much looking forward to spending some time with Josh and being there for his first experience of Asia.
We went to a pottery shop a couple of weekends ago, where you can pick a piece of unfired crockery and paint your design on it and then they will fire and glaze it for you. There was a similar place in Bath, only it's much cheaper in Korea. I painted a teapot and Lee painted a tear-shaped dish. They turned out beautifully so we might go back to do one more piece before we leave.
I am setting up a new blog for the trip and also a website for my photography which I will keep updated. When they are up and running, I shall post the new addresses.
