Hong Kong

For Lunar New Year, Aaron and I headed to Hong Kong for four days. While we were there we enjoyed the sites, the food, and the beer (it is always nice to have a variety). Hong Kong is an amazing city with many little quirks that captured our interest. We ended up with over 400 pictures, so here are just a few...enjoy!


The docks at Lai King

Street in Kowloon (peninsular Hong Kong)

Central escalator on the island

Hong Kong island from Kowloon

Lights of Hong Kong's business district

View from Victoria Peak

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday! It was very nice for us to be home for awhile. We really did not realize all that we have missed, especially our adorable nephews and how much they have grown! We had a fantastic time visiting our family, and it was nice to see a few friends too! Our only complaint is that our time was too short. Next time we will have to stay longer, and remember you are all welcome to come and visit us!

Best of luck in 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving

We missed being at home for Thanksgiving, but at least we got to have turkey and proper fixings this year! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Everyone loves turkey!

Ovens are amazing!

Turkey, macaroni and cheese, potatoes (mashed and roasted), corn, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce, stuffing (or dressing), salad, bread...oh my...are we still in Korea?

Adventures with Eric

We recently had a visit from our brother-in-law Eric, and we rocked Seoul for a week!



Rocking out at the Noreabang!

Welcome aboard the "Welcomeness Cosmos!"

Rocking with the Korean Sarah Palin!

This show was the highlight of the cruise on the Cosmos. The band played a variety of music in English and Korean while the old Korean men grooved to the tunes.

Say "Kimchi," Korean style photographing!

Drinking the "Hite-a" feeling alright-a

Noryangjin Fish Market

Our meal of live octopus, flounder sashimi, enormous shrimp, soju, and meckju (beer)

Hanging at Bukan Mountain drinking the pine needle soju to numb the pain

Mountain Man

Korean Trekking Jam

We had a great time with Eric, and we wish he could have stayed longer! Now it is back to reality...at least for a little while! Anyone else up for a visit?

Lion of Internationality

We had only a short time in Singapore, but this city was a nice relief from "Asia." We were able to drink good beer (something we long for everyday) and eat a variety of amazing foods. Here are some pics from our stay.





Waterfront restaurant row





Cityscape


This was an alley (of air conditioner units) that exuded Asia in ways this city often refused to do.

Overall, it was an amazing and relaxing vacation. We highly recommend this area of Southeast Asia to anyone interested!

Off to the island...

We took an overnight bus from Kuala Lumpur to Mersing on the west coast. From there, we took a ferry to Pulau Tioman, a popular weekend island spot for Malays and Singaporeans. We were there during the week, so it was mostly young tourists like ourselves. Actually, we met a few follow foreigners that were on their "Korean school" week vacation like ourselves.



Fishing boat in Mersing...all the boats were brightly colored



ABC beach...it doesn't get more peaceful than this! We spent three days snorkeling and trekking around the island...it was a much needed reprieve from the buzz of our lives in Seoul.



Just hanging out at the local beach bar...it was a hut on the beach that sold cheap beer and had a bonfire every night.



Our server's shirt..."American By Birth, Southern by the Grace of God!"



Jungle trekking from ABC beach to Juara beach...that is Aaron down at the bottom if you can see him...the trees were enormous...the air was hot and wet...the snakes were small but plentiful...the lizards were gigantic and skittish...



Fruit bats...these guys were pretty loud and pretty f...ing big!



ABC beach...there were several of these run down boats scattered along the beach



Sail boats of Tioman



Our beach...a few steps from the door of our chalet



A local restaurant/"resort" area with a long, cheap happy hour



Our chalet...$20 a night...not TOO shabby!

After Tioman, we took the bus ride of our lives into Singapore. There were many moments we were not sure we would get there in one piece. We were literally holding onto the seats in front of us, so we did not fall out of our seats. The luggage was falling off the overhead storage shelves and knocking a few travelers in the head. In the end, we made it to our destination in one piece!

and Bears...

Honey...hand licking good...



Pepsi...uh...stomache? licking good...