Chocolate Buffet at Grand InterContinental Seoul

Forgot to add last weekend after a great Vietnamese lunch with the chef and his wife, we all ventured back to the hotel to enjoy the last day of the chocolate buffet! I guess I don't need to say more right. Let the pictures tell a thousand words ... And yes, damm it was good!

The freshest Strawberries and chocolate fountain!

Instead of explaining all three, the middle one is a chocolate moose inside a real egg shell with the yellow is passionfruit sauce! WOW!!!

Chocolate brownies covered in a rich dark chocolate sauce with gold shavings on the top! Mmm

Ohh, just a few more chocolates on the buffet.

Weekend is Over

This really was a weekend that I did not want to end. Wasnt like it was an amazing weekend or anything, it was just relaxing, and enjoyable.

Had a nice dinner Friday evening in Hakone Japanese Restaurant in the Hotel. Then headed back to our place with a few friends and drank a few beers!
Saturday morning was the usual sleep in until 1030am, and then I devoured my two eggs on toast with 4 pieces of bacon, and a cup of tea! Damm what a perfect way to start the weekend. We just lazed around the house all day, then had a fantastic dinner at Table 34 on top of the hotel. Table 34 is as close as you can get to fine dining, and the food is great. The prices .... well lets put it this way.. "it aint cheap"!! We ended up back at one of friends rooms, drank maybe a bit too much wine, and we walked home around 2am.

This morning I dragged myself out of bed around 1000am, with no headache. The same could not be said for Clariza who was suffering a lot more than me. Its ok, I made her a lovely breakfast! We left the house around 1pm for Hyewha where we went to church, did a little shopping, and of course hung out with our friends. We got back just in time for the first Grand Prix of the year which just finished. Alonso 1st, M Shuemaker 2nd, and Raikkonen 3rd. Our aussie man Webber had a very respectable race coming in 6th.

So thats the story of the weekend. No complaints, though it has got well below zero again today! Would winter please leave! 3 more days until Thailand!

Night out with the Front Office Team

I used to consider myself a bit of the party type, but I tell you the Koreans love to party, no how to party, and always have the greatest time. Nobody gets punchy, just happy, and really enjoys themselves. This is some shots early in the evening at a Korean BBQ house. I cant show the photos from later in the night, cause boy, did those faces change. Enjoy.

December is here

It has been far too long between posts, and I cant tell you how many times over the last few weeks that I have said to myself I need to update the blog! Maybe it is the cold, maybe it is work, maybe I just havent felt there was anything significant to mention! Heck, I dont know.

So let me see.. the last few weeks has seen the temperature significantly drop. I am wearing ski gloves to work every morning as this past week every morning is below zero. I seem to be the only guy wearing gloves, but I dont give a sh..t, at least I feel warmer. Last night I came home around 7.30pm from work an it was so damm cold. When I check the computer it said it was -4! Felt colder! Still waiting for snow in Seoul, but I hear there is a lot of snow in the mountains already.

Work is going great, This past week our Florist Team have been busy putting up all the Christmas decorations, and it is hard to believe but as this is my department also, I am involved in saying what looks good or not! Me and decorations??? Mmmm... is this a new creative side I have not seen before?? In any case the decorations are up around the hotel and they look fantastic. The front of the hotel in the evening looks awesome.

Sadly on Tuesday, one of my staff's mother passed away, and I attended the funeral with a dozen other staff. It was the first time I attended a Korean funeral, and it is very differant from anywhere else. Firstly his mother had passed away in the morning and from the afternoon they rent a room in the hospital where people can come and pay respect to the family. You also give some money to the family. When we arrived we entered a area which is set up as a shrine in respect to the person who has passed away, there is a small prayer, then personal condolence to the fmaily members, then you sit down on the floor in another room and eat and drink. We stayed for about 1 hour. This happens for 3 days, as the family mourns and greets family and friends who come to pay respect.

On Wednesday I ended up havinga very big night. I attend the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Le Clef's Dors Concierge Society of Korea at the Westin Chosun. It was an interesting event with several VIP's, including myself (Dont know why), and we sat and enjoyed speeches, an awards ceremony which included two of my staff receiving full induction into the Le Clef's Dor Society. I was given the honour of pinning their golden keys on their jackets. After the ceremony we had a lovely buffet dinner, then headed out with about 40 attendees including several from our hotel that forced me to go out, and we ended up at a large Kareoke bar where we all sang until almost midnight. Of course up at 630am the next morning I was not feeling that great!

Other than this, we are preparing for our trip to Philippines & Australia. Clariza leaves on Monday for Philippines, and I will leave on the Friday 16th. We will stay in Philippines until the 23rd, then have Christmas and New Year in Sydney with friends and family. We are both so excited, but maybe more excited because we will be going to warmenr places!

So thats all for now.. Will try to get some more updates on including photos. Thanks for watching...

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!!!

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.....

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.

Tourist for a day

Working in hotels has it's perks and last Saturday we took advantage of this and joined a full day Ancient Korea Tour. Grace Travel Service are one of several companies that offer tours in Seoul, and as my department sells a lot of tours to guests I thought it is important to experience what the guest is paying for and is the tour good value. So at 8am we were met at the hotel by our escort for the day, Mr. Louis Lee. We then jumped into a very modern mini-van that sat around 8 people and we headed off to a few more hotels to pick up some other guests.

After picking up the remaining guests on the tour; a couple from Siberia on business, two Indonesian Americans, and a Korean Swiss lady, we headed to the area where the Presidential Blue House is. This area is extremely fortified with hundreds of security around guarding the Presidential Palace and the offices that surround. It is referred to as the blue house because the enormous rooftop has tiles that are blue. Kind of looked green to me! Once we drove out we drove through a small town near the blue house that is one of the remaining low level housing areas with the traditional lane ways between the houses. This area was once what all of Seoul looked like, but urbanisation has taken its toll!

We then had a short drive to the Gyeongbok Palace where we left the van and had a really interesting one hour tour. I will not go on about what was said in the tour as you really need to experience for yourself, but really it is so interesting how the Korean royalty lived in the past. The buildings gave such a great feel of how the royal family lived, and also struggled to keep themselves alive in times of so many wars and anarchy from inside and outside the palace.

We then had a short walk over to the National Folk Museum which is housed in a beautiful building that was built in 1972. It is representative of several hundreds of years of Korean design styles and also has a towering five-storey pagoda as it centerpiece. On the site of the Folk Museum there once stood a beautiful large Korean building that once housed many of the ancient treasures, but were all destroyed by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation. We toured the museum for around an hour and really on saw about 1/5 of it before it was time to leave. We will be sure to return there as it looked like there was just so much to see. What we did see gave a great insight into the living of the common people and also how they lived and survived based on the classes of the people. By the way there is no entry charge to get in! First time I have seen this in a city.

We then drove to the Jogye Temple which is one of the most ancient Buddhist temples in Seoul. It has for the most part remained intact through all the wars and occupations, and has some very interesting historical drawings on the walls of the temple. We also climbed the bell tower where we saw the various bells and drums used to signify certain events to the community in the surrounding area. The large bell for instance is only used during funerals!

We then did a quick stop to the Amethyst Factory where we were told about this famous rock and shown how it has been turned into various jewelry. Of course they tried to sell their works but we declined.

Next was to lunch finally where we enjoyed a nice Korean BBQ lunch at a very normal restaurant in Ieteawon. Food was great, but rather a boring place to eat. Was hoping for something more traditional.

We then set off on a 90 minute drive through the typical Seoul traffic to our next destination, the Korean Folk Village. Finally after arriving we jumped out of the van to be welcomed by some rain which kindly stayed with us for the next two hours. In any case we had a great walk around the Folk Village which is set up to depict the ancient times of the rural people. As it says in the brochure, it is an all natural environment set on 243 acres with more than 260 houses from the different regions of Korea. There is also set ups done throughout the villages depicting the living culture of the people in the late Joseon Dynasty. There us a nobleman's Mansion (99 rooms), a commoners house, and even a provincial Government office with a jail!

Sadly because of the rain they had cancelled the performance of the village people. What we would have seen was the traditional music and dance of the farmers, the games they played, as well as a wedding. Oh well, I guess another time.

We then jumped back into the van and headed back to Seoul. We returned to the hotel around 5.00pm! We were so tired, but a great day of learning and understanding of the Korean culture.

Two weeks of catch up

Sorry dedicated fans! It has been more than two weeks since I wrote, but what can I say! It has been very busy and have really settled down to work and thankfully Clariza has arrived and life is that much better now.

So where to start? The hotel is in the midst of a wonderful room refurbishment at the moment so occupancy has been relatively low. This has of course been advantageous for me as I am able to spend more time with the teams, and really sinking my teeth into the job. We had a lot of fears of noise in the hotel but overall there have been few complaints and the work is progressing well.

With Clariza's arrival I have been able to enjoy the restaurants in the hotel more, and actually not feel like that "nigel no friends" in the restaurant all the time. We have had some great meals and now we will try to conquer several of the dishes on the menus in time! Clariza has got herself on a fitness program in the gym and it seems the instructors are taking great pleasure in inflicting great pain on her in her work out sessions. This past week has kept me quiet amused watching Clariza adjust to the stiff muscles and aches in the body she has never felt before!
(Sorry Clariza!)

I think I forget to mention that I also choose our new apartment we will be living in. Several weeks ago I had narrowed down to two apartments I thought Clariza would like, and we were going to look at them when Clariza arrived. But unfortunately thanks to the pathetic bureaucracy of the Philippines government, Clariza arrived 5 days later than planned, and I had to make the final decision on the apartment before it was rented. So I choose a nice three bedroom apartment in a 4 storey building on the top floor. It is an old building, but I feel once it is done up, it will have great character. What I am most pleased about is that we have the private access to the roof top which is a great area to put a BBQ and a few chairs to relax! We will move in at the end of July.

Besides this, last Saturday we went to the Namdaemun Markets. We took the subway there and entered streets and streets of endless small shops that sold everything from leather boots, shampoos, to DVD players. After a while it all became a blur, but we enjoyed walking around and looking at all the stalls. I am sure we missed a few streets, but overall worth the walk around, but don't expect anything flash! We had a late lunch there in a chicken and fries restaurant, then spent the evening watching a movie.

Sunday we went with one of the band members in the hotels Hunters Tavern to an area called Hyehwa. Here we stepped into Filipino heaven! Located in Hyehwa is the main Roman Catholic Church of Seoul, and it also home to the main Filipino Catholic Community, with every Sunday afternoon having a Tagalog service. As we stepped out of the subway, we were met with a street lined with hundreds of filipino's hanging out around dozens of stalls selling everything you could buy in downtown Manila! It was very interesting and I could see the excitement in Clariza's eyes. I was very happy for this as I knew now at least once a week Clariza could get that Filipino fill in her which she really likes and wants. So we walked around, then attended the filipino mass. Of course I did not understand much at all, but I knew Clariza enjoyed it. Towards the end of the service Clariza spotted her causing whom she has not seen in over 10 years, and also a high school class mate, so after the service we grabbed then and all hung out for the afternoon. After a long lunch of catching up, as well as watching a filipino basketball tournament, we went home by taxi to the hotel at around 730pm in the evening exhausted.

That's all for now. Will try to write one more blog today so I am caught up. I will also attacha photo of clariza and I if I can find one!

Another week in Seoul

As with all big moves, as the weeks past the more accustomed you become to the environment around you. My week at work was full of new experiences, challenges, and thankfully a feeling of relaxation! Now if my boss read that he would think my feet are up on the table, but what I really mean is that the stress of the new job has subsided and I can now begin to do the job that is expected of me.

But the way business is done, the way issues are resolved, and even more so, the expectations people have is so different here. Now I mean this in a good way for the most part! For example, communication must be done in a certain way. You might have a brilliant idea, but your idea must be passed from top down. This way all the managers keep their respect as being part of the decision.

Anyway my week was filled with regular meals in the hotel, walks through the COEX mall, a night out to see my mate Tony perform, and finally I finished up the weekend with a huge Friday night.

Friday night deserves a paragraph of comment as it was my first real "Korean Night Out". It was the farewell for one of the front desk staff who was immigrating to the US. Very nice guy, well liked by the team, so you know even before the night began it was going to be big. I was warned about my first night out by the other expats in the hotel to look out for "SOJU" Now Soju is the local drink of sin, and has been know to also be use for embalming, and tastes somewhere between whiskey and vodka in my alcoholic connoisseur opinion.

So anyway we head out on the town and all meet up at a Korean BBQ House. There is about 30 of us, spread over three large tables sitting on the floor, and for the next two hours we ate and drank ourselves into a different world! It was a lot of fun, though really I did not like the taste of Soju, but what the heck! The BBQ was awesome and I will make sure I do that a few more times! So anyway, we then finished up, lots a few weary travelers outside, and moved on to a Kareoke joint about a km away! Private room, tons of beer, and music loader than a ACDC concert! This lasted about two more hours, and finally after drinking the bar out of beer, we left to find our next area of entertainment. As it happened only the hard and desperate survive and I was standing there with 4 and 1/4 people. So your asking a 1/4 of a person! Well one guys had definantly left this world and it was fair to say he was a 1/4 of a person left. So to save more pain we found a sashimi bar to eat, and after a hour or so, we hauled ourselves into taxis and parted ways! What a night!

As you can imagine, Saturday was a day of rest for me, nursing a cruel headache, and trying to drink as much water as I could. The rest of the weekend was spent doing a little work, as well as getting out onto the subway for the first time and visiting a place called Techno Mart. If you want electronics here, that is the place to go! I have never seen anything like it!

One last story which I promised myself I would write. Sunday lunch I spent in one of our restaurants. Nothing amazing right! Well as I was sitting there I noticed all the tables full with couples, young, and looking very serious. Forgetting my food, I was almost stunned to realize what was unfolding around me. It was dating, and not just your normal dating. What Icould see was these old ladies, say in their 60's / 70's sitting a man down, then a few minutes later brining a well dressed lady over and sitting her down. All the men were dressed p also in coat and tie, so it was a real hoot. Anyway to cut a long story short I finished up and then spoke to one of the staff. She explained that the Grand InterContinental is very famous for this. These older ladies are like matchmakers. They set up the dates and if the couple do get married, sometimes they are paid up to $10,000! I am not joking! I am blood serious! They said throughout the day there would be at least 20 to 30 couples introduced! So I thought that was an interesting story.

Well that's all for now! Appreciate your feedback ok!

Since my arrival in summary!

I woke up Sunday morning to the sunlight drifting between the curtains. It was about 830am, and for a brief moment I thought I was feeling better. I sat up in that usual morning daze, and after an eternity did the morning ritual and 30 minutes later was standing in the middle of the room feeling as bad as I did yesterday, but new I had to get out of the room and look around.

I first gave the laundry team my welcome gift, three bags of clothes to be cleaned, pressed, or dry cleaned. I am sure they were loving me on a Sunday! I then unpacked a little, then hit the club lounge for a small breakfast, then started to walk around. The hotel is huge with numerous restaurants and 535 rooms on 34 floors. This is going to be two years of fun?! But really it was so exciting to walk around the hotel and see what was on offer. First impression was extremely positive.

Moving right along, I then ventured into the adjoining basement mall called COEX shopping mall. Huge area, with more shops than I could count, several food halls, a movie cinema, and a few other bits and pieces I am still exploring. Above the COEX mall is the COEX exhibition centre, and on the other end of the mall is the other InterContinental, called COEX.

As I do, I decided to watch a movie, and had to see Star Wars 3. Clariza is not so much a fan off Star Wars, so best to get it out of the way on my own. I was not disappointed and enjoyed finally having the Star Wars series finally all come together of 20 something years! About bloody time!

I then spent the evening trying to kick the fever and flu, had a dinner in the restaurant and tucked myself into bed bright and early.

After a restless sleep with the anticipation of my first day of work starting at 830am, I put on the new suit and headed down to the bosses office to meet him and the team.

Monday to Friday was spent meeting all the team, the managers, the staff, the secretary, trying to understand when and where all the meetings were, and trying to get answers to a thousand questions. But the most difficult thing I faced in my first week was the barrage of names, ranks, and responsibilities. This is going to be fun!

Friday night I got out of the hotel and looked around the local area. (First real time out of the hotel in 5 days)

Saturday I did a little work, and in the evening I went to an area rodeo Drive. Very upmarket area with high fashion, and bloody expensive.

Sunday, a little work through the day, and the evening I met up with an aussie who has lived here for three years in Ietewon. He showed me around all the places, where to go and not to go. "Keep away from the juicy bars" he mentioned! Peering into the doors of these places, I can understand why! He is a drummer in a band, as well as teaches, and holds a bit of fame in Seoul working with some famous Korean bands. We went up to the club he plays in, Woodstock, and we enjoyed a couple of hours listening to an open mike evening of music, singing, poetry, and comedy. Tony, my new aussie mate, also teamed up with a few guys and jammed for about 20 minutes, sending the crowd into a rock frenzy with some great classic rock! Man can he throw those sticks around!

We finished up the evening with some falafals, homous, Egyptian tea in a Egyptian restaurants called Pharohs, and I was in bed by 3.30am after a great evening in naughty Ietewon (hey I will work on the spelling I promise)

So now we are caught up, as it is Monday afternoon, Memorial Day, a public holiday. I have done a few hours work and ready for week two. The honeymoon period is over folks, and work is really about to begin!

Less than two weeks until Clariza arrives. Sure do miss her. Weird not being with my wife, but I am glad she is spending time with family and friends in PI, which she has not done all that often over the years.

Tonight is to be a quiet night! Thanks for listening!