News from Australia

Well it has been a big week in Australia, and in particular Sydney, my home town. And how do I know what is going on, well I read the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper every morning. My day does not start unless I catch the headlines from home. http://www.smh.com.au/

So the first news was the AFL Final. Victory to the Sydney Swans! Yes, it is almost unbelievable since they had never won in over 70 years. I am not the biggest Aussie Rules fan but I have always been a Swans supporter. So I was very excited about the news!
http://media.fairfax.com.au/?rid=16893
I hope it works. It is the final minutes of the game. Gripping to the very end.

And then today I read that Sydney has been Voted for the Worlds best destination for food. Not just food, but culinary delights from some fantastic restaurants. Now anyone from Sydney is saying oh come on, must be better places.... but I don't think so. And it wasn't Aussies that voted on this! Read the article below;
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/09/26/1127586779109.html

Well that's all for now. Speak soon!

Weather is Changing

After a very hot and humid summer, this week saw lots of rain, followed by cooler weather. It is actually very nice weather at the moment, not hot, not cold. My walk to work at 730am is perfect, but I can only imagine what it will be like in the heart of winter. Their is one street I walk down now when I go to work that has rather a sharp decline. When I walked down it the other day with a friend he was telling me there is know way I will be able to walk down it in winter as it will be so icy and you will just fall over. He said the cars are parking on the hill now, but with great difficulty in the winter, if at all.

Anyway our week has been good, since it was a 4 day work week. Boss is on a business trip, hotel is really busy, and everyone is in a good mood at work. I really like when the hotel is busy and this week has been no exception. The next three weeks we are going to be full, so all hands on deck!

My company, just announced that we will be managing three new InterContinental Hotel Resorts in Thailand. One on PhiPhi Island, on in Phuket, and one of the island of Koh Samui. The owner also owns the Holiday Inn Phi Phi Island where my friend and collegue is GM. This is very exciting news. They should open late 2007! Thailand here I come! (In my dreams). Our company is really on a role in Asia at the moment. In the last few months we have opened hotels in China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand, with so many more to come. This is why I stay in this industry and why I am so glad I am working with this coming. Hoteliers seem to jump ship a lot, but I really want to make my mark with our company.

Clariza finally got a mobile phone in Korea yesterday after dragging my PA out for a few hours to do all the interpreting. I am glad she has a mobile now. Seoul and Korea is a very safe place, but it is comforting to know she has a mobile for emergencies. Clariza has also been exploring the web to try find some courses to do online. We should find something soon.

Well it is Saturday, and I am loving my day off. Tonight we should go out for a nice dinner somewhere. Thanks for keeping in touch.

Desperate Football Fans

This is great. I was reading through my regular travel emails and this article was in it.

1st Point - Name of Airline Company "Rum Air"

2nd Point - I guess this crew were just trying to give their 289 passengers the best service possible?! right?

Enjoy -

Desperate Football Fans!
Plane makes unauthorised detour to football match A faked fuel emergency allowed an aircraft load of football supporters from Gambia to attend the country’s world youth tournament match in Peru on Tuesday.
A Rum Air plane carrying 289 fans from the West African country made an unauthorised detour to Peru’s northern city of Piura, bypassing immigration formalities in the capital, Lima.The plane landed in time for fans to see the match against Qatar, which their team won 3-1 to reach the quarter finals of the World Under-17 Championship.The phoney emergency alerted fire fighters and police who raced to the airport, while hospitals were told to prepare for possible casualties.A Peruvian airport authority spokeswoman said the plane with 12 crew on board had raised the alarm, saying it did not have enough fuel to fly to Lima and would have to land in Piura instead.Immigration officials there checked documents and the fans went straight to the stadium to see the match.The plane was impounded, but it was not immediately clear what penalties the airline could face.

It's Been too long!

Since Mum left, our social calendar has dwindled! Sad isn't it, we have more fun we mum is around! You rock mum!
Anyway work has been weeks of budget reviews for 2006 and the hotel has got a lot busier. This is when hotels finally get higher occupancy after a average summer. But then suddenly we are stuck in the middle of the largest three day holiday in Korea called Chusok. Translated it is similar to Thanksgiving. Once Friday hit, there is an exodus from Seoul into the provinces where everyone visits their families and celebrate this period.
We chose to stay in Seoul, and it has been extremely quiet on the roads, the subways, and no work! Fantastic yes!
Friday night, we had dinner at home, then took the subway out to where Clariza's cousin lives, Larry, and we got together had some beers, and chicken. We then all went back to our Villa around midnight.
Saturday we spent the entire morning imprisoned in the Villa as it was raining more than cats and dogs! It bucketed down for hours, so we just relaxed around the house and enjoyed the day off. Finally when the rain let up a little we headed down to the hotel, had some lunch, then back over to Larry's house. We then decided to check out Carrefour at the World Cup Stadium as we had never seen it, and did a little shopping. I picked up a basketball as we have a basketball court close to our house and I need to do some exercise! Ha, we will see! (Did I say that!) Anyway, dinner at Larry's then subway home after watching Le Grande Blue (Great French Movie)
Sunday (Yesterday) Clariza and I lounged around the house all morning, had a nice breakfast and in the afternoon we taxied over to Hyehwa-Dong to join the Batangas-Korea 8th anniversary celebration. The organization had rented out a large bar / restaurant and to sum up the evening it was a hell of a lot of fun, lots of filipino food, heaps and heaps of beer and soju, singing, games, and speeches. I joined the beer drinking contest as any Australian should and came in a close second! I also was asked to do a speech, so spent two minutes talking about the region of Batangas and my experience. I guess as the only non-filipino there it was expected! Oh well, it was a fun night and we bid our farewell around 11pm.
So its now Monday and with another day off for the holiday we are again just relaxing around the house, and should head down to the basketball court in a little while!!! (You think??)

Here is a recent article about Hyehwa where Clariza and I visit every Sunday. Nice article!
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/09/16/200509160025.asp

And here is a better definition I took from the internet on Chusok -

Chusok, the Harvest Moon Festival, has been called Korea's equivalent of the US's Thanksgiving. It's held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Lunar Year, which is usually in September or October by the Western calendar. In 2004, Chusok will take place on the 28th of September.
As with most major Korean holidays, most people travel home to pay their respects to their parents and ancestors, and tend to the gravesites of the dead. At these tombs and burial mounds, Koreans make offerings of new rice, fresh fruit, and other freshly harvested foodstuffs. Special foods for the holiday include songpyon, crescent-shaped (for their similarity to the shape of the moon) rice cakes filled with sesame, chestnut, or red bean paste, and songi (mushrooms).
Like Thanksgiving, Chusok is a time of great feasting. Americans have their football games, and Koreans also have traditional holiday games: Kanggangsuwollae (traditional dance), tug-of-war, and Kobuk-nori (in which two men dress up as a tortoise and go from house to house; each household is expected to give them food and drink). Some people in rural areas still hold to the old custom of climbing the hills and swinging lighted torches in circles to greet the harvest moon.

What a week! Bee Gees Concert, Nanta Show, Itaewon, and Great Food

I know we struggle to get new updates done on the blog but thanks to a 5 day visit from mum morley there is lots to mention.

Mum came in Tuesday evening and Clariza and I suprised her at the airport. We have a limousine company at the hotel who so very kindly offered to pick up mum for free, so we had a lovely limousine ride back into Seoul and went home.

Wednesday I headed off to work and Clariza and Mum spent the day visiting Namdeamun Markets, a few palaces, and Insa-Dong. Then in the evening the three of us were supposed to go to the BeeGess concert via Robin Gibb, but unfortunantly Clariza ended up with a migraine early evening so it was mum and I to rock on! We teamed up with three other guys from the hotel and went to the concert at the COEX.

I just got to say I am so glad we did not have to pay for the tickets. (Our hotel had the group staying with us) We had in our hand 165,000 Won tickets but we sat in an open convention floor that was not only not carpeted, but we sat on plastic lawn chairs! Man, if I was in Australia paying the price we were paying for the tickets, there would have been a riot!

So the sedated crowd sat for the first hour as we had all predicted and finally when the concert was over, and when the encore began did the crowd finally stand up and begin to boogie! They did about another 5 songs and it was over. It was a fun concert, glad we went, but all of us said we would have never paid that price if we had too.

Thursday, Mum & Clariza shopped all day at the COEX, including some manecures & pedicures! (Oh, the hard life!) and in the evening we ate at our hotels buffet restaurant, the Grand Kitchen. I tell you it has to be the best buffet in town. I know it is my hotel, but still we have eaten at a few buffet restaurants and this is the best by a mile,

Friday, Clariza and Mum did some walking around Gangnam area where the hotel is, COEX mall again, and visited the temple across the road form the COEX InterContinental. In the evening I had a early function to attend at the hotel and then we met up at the COEX InterContiental and had dinner at Asia Live Restaurant. A great restaurant as has a huge menu with Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian dishes.

Saturday, I got to sleep in, and then we headed into Iteawon. Of course we took the subway and in 45 minutes from our station (Samseong) we were there. Actually after being here three months now it was the first time that we actually went to Iteawon during the day time. We started as everyone does at the Hamilton Hotel and worked our way around the streets of Iteawon. We found a few clothing places in the back alleys that had great womens black market clothing and Clariza spent about 100,000 on some great winter jackets that had the cut out Italian labels! We then ate at the Outback SteakHouse, had a great meal, and then walked around a little more.

Now for the expats, especially the Americans and Canadians I found the store that sells all the foreign foods like Pop-Tarts, etc.. If you stand at Hamilton and look across to Burger King, cross over there to the Burger King side and walked down the street that is where burger king is and walk past a few antique stores and after about 250 metres there is a clear glass door with a red painted frame with no sign and you walk in and it is a very small shop with all the stuffs you need.

Anyway we then walked to the main road and took a taxi to the Nanta theatre for our 4pm show. The theatre is very close to the City Hall. Nice theatre, very mixed crowd. We took the 2nd level tickets which were 50,000 won. It was a 90 minute show and was a lot of fun. It was, loud, funny, lots of dancing, performing, heaps of food thrown around, great drum work with all the cutlery etc.. We walked out and all said how much we enjoyed it.

We then walked down to the Seoul City Hall, and onto our most favourite Dim Sum restaurant called Dintaifung. It is only about 6 weeks old and we have eaten there twice. It is a modern Dim Sum concept, dont take reservations, and is a quick meal, but excellent. Again I highly recommend. www.dintaifung.co.kr
Seoul City Hall .. sorry small photoThis is the Dintaifung Restaurant interior. Very modern and open windows to kitchen!

After dinner we took a stroll to the underground shops nearby, and finally took a taxi home.

Sadly we bid mum farewell at 6am this morning as she had a flight to Japan at 9am! We look forward to her coming back so that we can have as much fun again.

Beer Tragedy!

Damm, thats a lot of broken beer bottles! I reckon right after the accident the driver finally pulled over, jumped out of his truck, looked out over the thousands of broken bottles lying all over the road, walked over to one of the few remaining un-broken bottles, picked it up, opened it, and drank his sorrows away! A loss like this deserves a beer wouldnt you say.

New Orleans Disaster

Hurricane Katrina!

I think the Hurricane is long gone now, but was has happened since then is the most tragic and devastating thing I have ever seen.................. in America.

Is this a wake up call to the Americans?, or should I say the American Government? I don't know about everyone else, but sitting back watching CNN over the last few days has just overwhelmed me. Bureaucratic runaround, everyone pointing fingers at each other, everyone telling everyone what should have been done, but still nothing is been done. I think they got troops quicker to Iraq than they did to New Orleans.

I just cant understand how the so called most powerful country in the world, can just sit around and watch the devastation unfold right in front of their eyes! And again I direct this to the government. I am sure people all over the USA are sitting back also watching this and I hope also angry about how this is being handled by their government. It sends you to tears seeing these old people and small children just sitting there in the streets with no food, no shelter, no water, and no f....kn safety or security. Sure there are some heroes down there trying to do their best, especially in the hospitals, but why didn't they send the military in earlier????

All I can say is I cant believe this has happened in America, and I hope this is a wake up call to the US government to start taking care of their own rather than everyone else.

I lived in the States for 8 years and so many of my dear friends are American. So I hope they understand my feelings right now is not against the people rather the government and the way this has been handled. I just hope the people of Louisiana are taken care off, are able to go home soon and start re-building their lives. But reality is, life will never be the same for them. I send my sympathy to them and pray for their strength to continue.