Heading Off to Begin Another Adventure

So, we are almost done our contract here in Korea, and figure we will let you in on our travel plans before we arrive in our respective hometowns in Canada. We're trying to say all our goodbye's without any tears. It's hard knowing that the life we made for ourselves over here over the past year will be over, possibly leaving good friends that we've made behind forever. Our academy, students, coworkers and boss, though at times nutty and frustratingly untranslatable, both in language and culture, will be missed dearly. We will no longer walk down the street and be inundated by children that know and trust us screaming our names, showing us their toys or begging for money to buy ice cream and Popsicles. We wanted to get some of the huge banners that our boss made over the year of Jake and I and our students and send them home, but it might not be possible. Hopefully pictures will have to suffice.

So, we are leaving Korea early on Tuesday, July 1st, and will be in Canada a month or so later (Jake less, me more). This is our semi-tentative itinerary for the next month. Who knows if it'll look anything like what we actually do, but it's a good framework.


July 1st-4th: We'll be in Hong Kong checking out the heavily British influenced architecture and food options, while still being in an official part of Mao's China. We're hoping to go to Victoria peak for it's scenic view on Hong Kong Island (photo above, thanks Wikipedia), visit the CNN center and visit our anchor friends (they don't know us yet, so it might be a problem if there aren't tours running), buy some cheap electronics, sleep in the tiniest possible hotel rooms and eat some Western delights that we've been deprived of this year.

July 4th-6th: We'll be in Bangkok for some dental work (Jake needs some fillings, and they are dirt cheap in Bangkok, but not dirty, in the worlds largest medical tourism city). We'll meet up with Pla (Simon's fiancée), and she'll show us some local sights before we board a train to Chiang Mai up north.

July 7th-8th: We will take an overnight train to Chiang Mai, a few hours north of Bangkok, almost near the Thailand/Myanmar/Laos boarder. The beautiful area is supposed to have secluded mountain tribes, and a vibrant city life. Some common things for tourists to do in Chiang Mai are to ride some elephants into the rain forest, go trekking through the highest mountains in all Thailand with some hilltribe guides, go bamboo rafting, get or learn traditional Thai massage, take Thai cooking classes from a famous Thai TV chef, or train to be a Muay Thai master!

July 9th - 10th: After taking another overnight train back to Bangkok, we'll hop onto a flight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. We'll visit some museums and the Killing Fields from Cambodia's government led genocide in the 1970's that killed an estimated 1-3million Cambodians (or Khmers). A sobering but necessary trip to one of the poorest countries in Asia.

July 11th - 14th: We'll take a bus to Siem Reap (also in Cambodia) to check out one of the world's greatest architectural marvels; Angkor Wat (above). Siem Reap's French colonial history lends the small town/city a very unique flavour of culture, architecture and cuisine!

July 14th - 21st: We will catch a flight from Bangkok to Phuket, in south Thailand, on the western side of the Kra Isthmus (or the long, narrow peninsula thing separating the Indian Ocean from Gulf of Thailand) and go island hopping in the Andaman Sea/Indian Ocean. We will most likely go to Ko Phi Phi Don, and Ko Phi Phi Lei (the island where The Beach was filmed, below), and possibly Krabi (on the mainland). We will kick back, maybe go scuba diving if the weather permits, and wander around probably the most picturesque island's in the world! (or at least we think so).

July 21st -23rd: We'll head back to wild and frantic Bangkok after some relaxing times on the beach in the South and do any last minute sight seeing and shopping, and say goodbye to Pla, and the rest of Asia (for the time being at least).

July 23rd - 26th/29th: The morning of the 23rd, we'll be up and in an Etihad plane to London, via a stopover in Abu Dabi, UAE. Once in the land of Big Ben, we'll meet up with a British pal, and see the sights. Jake takes off back to Halifax on the 26th, just in time for St. Andrew's infamous "Big Top", while I will stay until the 29th. My mom will be joining me in London, and we will head over to the Green Isle to see some family and drink from the Guinness Brewery once again. We will be in Ireland (probably just around Dublin) until August 8th, when I will fly into Pearson.

Our trip is going to be so unbelievable and unpredictable, and we are very excited to be able to do all this travel. Unfortunately, we can't make it to Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Taiwan or Malaysia because of time constrictions. We'll just have to do those places another time. :)

Hopefully these plans put our families at ease being able to know where we plan to be and when. We are so excited, and hopefully can post some pictures when we get into some internet café's along the way.

Cheers and love,
possibly one last time from Ulsan, South Korea!
Colleen and Jake