Vacation and back to school update

It’s been so long since the last update and I thought I would be better about updating… OOPS!!

 So the last update ended right before our vacation so let me catch everyone up!

We arrived in Phuket, Thailand around 1am after two short flights and a layover in China. Not wanting to search for a reasonable price for a taxi we decided to just go with someone in the airport. Probably not the best price but it was convenient. The way people drive in Thailand can make you a little car sick or just nervous for your life. If there are laws for the road I don’t think anyone follows them. The cab ride was about an hour with a solid 15 minutes in Patong, trying to find our hotel. Of course the person working the front desk was not answering the phone and this cab driver had no idea where to go, even stopping to run in places to ask other people if they knew. Finally we found it!! We got settled and went straight to sleep so we could wake up early to explore. 

The next day we walked around and looked at all the shops on the street. We caught on quick not to be to impulsive with our shopping since almost all the stores had the same thing for different prices or a softer/weaker salesmen. We also learned that just by saying no thank you or walking out of the store will help you get the price you want ;) haha! After looking in a few stores we ate breakfast and headed straight for the beach. The water in Thailand is perfect. Warm water, nice size waves and clear to the bottom. As soon as we got in the water we knew it was going to be an amazing week. What made our trip perfect was renting a scooter. We were able to travel all around Phuket and see things that I know wouldn’t have been possible without it. We stopped at every beach on the west coast, found beautiful restaurants, ate some pretty amazing street food, got really cheap Thai massages and of course saw amazing sights! Let’s go back to the massages though. A thai massage cost around 10 dollars so we had to take advantage. By the end of the week Adam had gotten 9 or 10 massages and I had 8 plus a manicure and pedicure that also only cost 10 dollars. The thai massage takes a lot out of you. They stand on you, stretch you, twist you, they even crack areas of your body I never knew were possible to crack! Because it’s a lot on your body we spread them out and got some oil massages, fish foot baths and aloe treatments in between. This was definitely our kind of vacation! Thailand has such a calm atmosphere...at least during the day! Everyone we met was so kind and willing to help us with directions. I'm glad we choose to spend the whole time in Phuket. It was such a relaxing week and the perfect way to unwind from our jobs ;). 

We got very lucky with the weather while in Thailand. There were scattered storms but they always happened while we were inside or as soon as we got back to the hotel with the exception of one! The day we left it was pouring down rain, so much that our flight was delayed a little.

After leaving Thailand, Indonesia had a lot to live up to! We arrived in Bali around 8ish and headed straight to our hotel in Kuta. Driving up to the hotel we were very happy. The pictures on the website did not do it justice. The lobby was outside next to a pool with a swim up bar. There was also a nice dinning area outside with a restaurant open 24 hours. When we got settled in the hotel room we noticed there was no remote. I called down to tell them that the remote was missing but I guess only the deluxe rooms came with remotes. This was not okay so we upgraded to a deluxe room for 20 dollars. The difference between these rooms was huge, it was not just a remote that was missing from our first room. The deluxe rooms had recently been renovated and were a lot nicer. The beach was a close walk from the hotel with many shops and restaurants along the way. Kuta is a big foreigner spot, mostly Australians and surfers. The waves in Bali were bigger than any I have ever seen. Swimming was kind of out of the question unless you are willing to fight the current, which we did and got a small beating! We were able to rent a scooter in Bali which again made the trip that much more exciting. Our favorite spot we found was Uluwatu. A temple we stumbled across on was most definitely an exciting part of the trip. Pura Uluwatu is a temple that has roaming monkeys who are very cute but not so nice. The monkeys are good at stealing items that aren't secure to your body so we made sure to hide our cameras, sunglasses, and my purse. After a little hike, I had made a wrong step which resulted in the strap of my flip flop breaking. Dragging my shoe made me a little uncomfortable around the monkeys, I knew they were eyeing it! One monkey in particular had more than his eye on my shoe and with one little charge I was crying in a corner while the monkey had my shoe in his mouth. After calming down I yelled to Adam to take pictures! The shoe got tossed around and eaten up and I was barefoot until leaving the temple. As we were walking to our scooter I found one  flip flop. Right size, right foot... perfect! Probably another victim of the monkeys. Close to the temple was an amazing surf spot all built on a cliff. We found a nice restaurant here with a perfect view of the sunset. 

  We both feel so incredibly lucky to have traveled to two amazing countries. 

It has already been two months since our vacation. Second semester is going by a lot faster than the first semester. There hasn't been any changes at work other than getting more comfortable. The students have opened up more and we have gotten the hang of lesson planning and teaching. 

September, Adam turned 23!! We celebrated by going white river rafting and ATV riding before we left on vacation. It was a package deal that didn't turn out to be exactly how it was advertised but we still had a great day! The second weekend of September was the Korean holiday, Chuseok. Unfortunately, we had little time to plan a trip so we just spent the weekend relaxing and babysitting the kitten! Our friend Meagan, who had watched the cat while we were away, had gone to Japan for the holiday so we took the cat with hopes we could find him a home. We were successful, and the cat now has a family!

October started off with Cheryl and Alex visiting! Adam and I went up to Seoul to meet them early Saturday morning. We spent the three day weekend exploring Seoul and catching up. We took them to Gyeongbukgung, The N tower, a few traditional Korean restuarants and we visited the Japanese prison for Koreans during their occupation. After a wonderful weekend in Seoul we were happy to bring them down to Busan! We took them to our favorite Korean BBQ resturant, Haedongyongsura temple, Geumjeong fortress, and while we were at work they were able to do their own exploring! It was hard to say goodbye for a second time but we are so grateful that they made the long journey! The next week started all events for the Busan International Film Festival, or BIFF! This festival is a well known for film makers all around the world with more than 350 films from 70 countries shown!  We were able to see a Japanese film, Star Watching Dog, and an French animation film, A Monster in Paris, both in an outdoor theatre that was built specifically for this years festival. After BIFF started the annual Firework Festival. In the past the festival has only been three days but this year it was nine. The first weekend we watched a firework contest between Japan, China, Poland and the U.S. Each country had a 15 minute show and each one was spectacular! On the final day there was an hour and a half firework show! It started raining but the show wasn't cancelled. It was also Halloween weekend and the night we dressed up but we didn't bring an umbrella. We couldn't miss the show so we stood out in the pouring rain, costume and all and watched the best firework show we've ever seen. October was a busy month to say the least and we are starting off November taking it easy. 

We are still having the time of our lives and enjoying every minute of living in Korea! We miss you and love you all!!

                                                                     THAILAND

                     

                                                                         BALI

FIREWORK FESTIVAL...watch until the end!!