1000 Hits on my site

I find it hard to believe that 1000 people have made hits and looked at my website! I think though at least 300 is me! Not bad for being in existance for only 4 months.

Yes I know... too long between posts

It has been so busy of late. The weather is getting colder and I must be moving into that hibernation mood! I have a new boss at work this week, so the entire work place is a little on edge. Also my mother-in-law arrived in Seoul on Sunday evening so we went out to the airport to meet her. All of last week Clariza and I struggled with the first colds of the season, and at the same time were preparing for Inay.
So that's my excuse ok! Other than this life has just been work, and a few dinners with clients and work college's. We were supposed to have dinner at the hotel last night, but I begged Clariza for a home cooked meal after eating the last 4 dinners at the hotel. Yes, its great to eat in the hotel restaurants, but after a while it is just so nice to relax at home with a lovely meal, and watch some TV. Speaking of TV, we have Sky Life. It is a Cable company with 200 Korean channels and about 10 English channels. It gives us most of the stations and programs we want, but at the moment we cant get one of the local channels which is the AFN station (American Armed Forces Network) So you are asking why do you want that station. Well it gets some of the good American shows we like which includes LOST, and Amazing Race. Yes, I admit Clariza and I are addicted to these shows, so now we have engineers from the hotel coming to our apartment to try help us to get the AFN channel. Oh the pleasures of living in Seoul.
Well got to go, and promise some more photos on the next blog. They will be a little old, but I promised I would post them.

Spring Picnic

As promised in the last entry, I went on the annual Front Office Spring Picnic with half of the Front Office Teams from our two hotels. Because there are almost 150 staff between the two hotels in the Front Office, we split up in to two teams. Team One had their picnic from Monday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon, and second team in this Thursday afternoon until Friday afternoon.

So, as planned I was on team one, and at around 1230pm we left the hotel with 70 other staff in two big buses for our 3 hour journey to the west coast of South Korea called Daechun Beach. In traditional Korean style the beers and soju were cracked open the moment the bus left the hotel, all the way to Daechun. I was a great drive, and so nice to be out of Seoul. It is just such a contrast once you get out of the city. We had a few stops on the way for toilet breaks and finally reached the beach around 330pm.

We then checked into a resort hotel complex, with 10 rooms and about 7 to a room. They were apartment style with two bedrooms in each so it was comfortable.

By 4pm we met in the lobby and headed directly to the beach which was a 5 minute walk from the resort. As you can see by the photos it was a vast beach, and as summer is over was not crowded. We then spent the next two hours at the beach playing games, taking photos, and just relaxing. Of course there was a cooler of beer and soju on the side, so spirits were high and everyone was having a great time.

This is a picture of me with two of the doorman from the hotel. Great guys.Me on the beach! Jeans and a Rugby jersey on the beach? Well it was actually cold and the water was about 12 degrees. Nobody swam, though one of the girls was dumped in the water. I think it was payback for something?
Horse & Cart ride along the beach just before sunset. You can see in the background on all the beach shots that the weather on the day was perfect. Even got some colour on my bald head!

Below photo is game that translated into english is something like head in the ass! I just watched, and had a few laughs!

So after the beach at around 6pm we went to a Japanese Restaurant where we had booked the entire top floor. We stayed at the restaurant about two hours and drank a hell of a lot of alcohol, and ate so much food. There was hot dishes and cold dishes, tons of sashimi, and if I didn't mention lots of alcohol. There were speeches, there was singing, there were attempts at dancing, and overall a lot of laughs. The moment we finished dinner we then left the restaurant and headed to a disco which we had reserved exclusively for the staff from 830pm to 11pm. As I am sure you can imagine everyone was already pretty drunk, so the disco was so so much fun. There were beers on every table and the DJ played enough good music to keep the dance floor full for the whole time we were there. Everytime I tried to sit down, I either had to do a drinking game, or was pulled back up to the dance floor. I escaped a few times, but by the time we left I was exhausted. Anyway 11pm, no time to rest, so we spent the next hour walking back to the resort which normally takes 5 minutes, and then we went to a small outdoor restaurant near the hotel where we drank some more and talked until about 1am. I finally dragged myself into bed sometime after that.

This photo below is a few of us the next morning at 9am drinking beers outside a Family Mart. I woke at around 7am to a glorious day and took a walk around the beach. Thank god, no hangover.

This photo was around 10am just before we got back on the bus to leave the resort.

Below is a group shot of everyone on Team One. I know it is not so clear, but hey at least you get a sense of the size of the group. 69 Koreans, One Australian! Outnumbered huh!We then got on the buses and drove about 90 minutes to the Suduck Temple. It is very famous in Korean as it was originally one of the only all female monk temples. It was a very nice walk up the mountain to the temple as you can see from the photos above and below.

After descending from the temple we had lunch together at a traditional Korean Restaurant, had some ice cream, and then got back on the bus for our final trip back to Seoul. Eventually around 5pm we arrived back at the hotel, we all said goodbye, and parted ways until work tomorrow.

It was a really great trip and so nice to spend more time with the teams out of the hotel. This is also partly funded by the hotel, and a very good idea. Now... must get sleep!!!

I love my sleep too!

Found these pictures below on another blog. Thought they were pretty cool. My weekends are spend with a nice sleep in every Sunday. Got to do it at least once a week.

On Saturday night after a nice evening at Cousin Larry's in Hapgeong, we caught the last subway back to Samseong. My recommendation is dont get the last subway! We knew it was going to be crowded as our station was busy with people, but as the train arrived I could see inside that there was almost no way we were going to fit. But we were not going to give up, so as the doors opened we pushed our way in as did the others behind us, and we then spent the next 40 minutes squashed amongst hundreds of other commuters. It was so crowded that at some stops people just gave up and got off.

Anyway... enjoy your sleep!

I sure hope it is a new shoe! Or is he trying to climb in?

I guess it is more comfortable than the floor!

I cant believe I'm saying this but she actually looks comfortable!

Hasn't your mother always told you "never sleep with a mouthful of food"

I sure hope someone doesnt turn on the heater.

A week passes in seconds

This past Monday was supposed to be a holiday, but as it so happened the hotel was bursting at the seems, so I had the pleasure of hanging out at work all day! Had a great lunch though in our Marco Polo restaurant in the KITA building next door. Our Chef makes the best Mediterranean food I have had in a long long time. As the restaurant is on the 51st floor, the views are amazing.

Anyway the rest of the week followed suit, busy as hell, and no slowing down. Nice that the hotel is busy after refurbing 12 floors now in the hotel and 16 to go!

Highlights - My bank, down in the COEX shopping centre was Korean First Bank, but overnight it is now Standard & Chartered Bank, with the KFB name stuck in tiny font on the bottom. I had a moment of panic when I went to the bank as saw how the signs had changed, but all the staff are the same.

Highlights - Near the TGIF in the Coex Shopping centre there is a Candy store that also sells foreign goods. Even has Australian Cadbury Chocolate! Also in the basement section of Hyundai Shopping centre they have also set up a little foreign goods section of food.

Clariza and I had a nice dinner in the Grand Kitchen on Thursday evening. This is the buffet restaurant on the B1 level. One of the most extensive buffets around, with a dessert buffet to die for. Love the chocolate fountain! We then went up and met the new Filipino band in the Hunters Tavern. They hadn't started playing yet but went and said hi anyway. Also there is a new Jazz trio in our lobby lounge from South Africa. The guy on the Saxaphone is fantastic. Well worth a visit if your n the neighbourhood.

Ok, its Saturday, and I am resting at home as have a slight headache from a night out with the staff. Korean BBQ house, followed by Noribang! I sang the first two songs before most people got there, so I did my part! Next Monday, we have our annual Spring Picnic for the Front Office Department. Next posting I will give the details, but I think its going to get ugly!!!

Take care everyone!

Night Out with the Ladies!

Late afternoon yesterday I was invited to a Housekeeping party as one of the ladies was retiring, and one was promoted to a new position in our other hotel.

So I set out in the pouring rain around 630pm to a Korean BBQ place not too far from the hotel. When I entered, our housekeeping team took up the entire restaurant with about 60 staff. So let my paint a picture here, as sorry I have no photos!

Our housekeeping is 90% female staff, with the average age around 50 years old. No I am not joking. Our hotel has been open for 18 years and almost all of them have been here since the beginning.

So I sit on the floor and enjoy a wonderful BBQ Pork Dinner, lots of beer, and thankfully avoided the Soju. The ladies were in great moods, slamming down Soju like water, eating for a tribe, and laughing and shouting as if it were all a comedy show. I have been out with our Front Office team, whom are half their age, and thier parties are more subdued! Then the speeches came, more drinking with every toast, lots of crying for Mrs. Lee's retirement, lots of cheering for Ms. Kim's promotion and I even made a speech that they all just laughed at, as most did not speak English.

I thought we were all done, but I and a few of the other male managers (all Korean) were strong armed by the ladies and taken to the closest Norebang(Kareoke), were I, 4 men, and 30 ladies dance and sang for almost an hour and a half. I begged and pleaded that my voice was never meant for singing, but I had no choice, so I sang a dreadful interpretation of Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. I was then thrown from lady to lady as their toyboy for three minutes of dancing each!, then finally, someone got smart and said it was time to leave. Dont get me wrong I was laughing so hard and having so much fun. Even when I was dancing with one of the ladies I told her my age and she told me her eldest son was the same age as me! She had a cheeky grin on her face. (God help me, what is she thinking!!)

Anyway, we all left, said goodbye, I trudged off in the pouring rain to my wonderful wife, and the ladies went home to see their husbands, children, and for some, their grandchildren.

I think, seeing these ladies at work will never be the same. And I mean that for the good things. Really though I have so much respect for the ladies whom have worked the majority or all of their lives cleaning rooms 6 days a weeks, then heading home and taking care of their families.

For now.....