The calm...after the storm

Lydia is safely home and my parents eventually got on a flight yesterday (they were meant to leave on Monday). So I am now settling into chill time here in Korea. The last few days have been very nice and lazy...lots of walking, playing on the free gym equipment and reading.

And Spring seems to be on its way at last! It was really cold here for my first week, but we're up to about 20 degrees now and by the looks of the weather forecast that's going to keep creeping up over the next few weeks. Yeay! Esther has holiday booked from the 4th May and we're going to head down to Jeju Island to camp on the beach for a bit - by then it should be hot (hence all the walking and gym stuff...got to get into a bikini by then, eek!).

In my time here, I have become a surrogate Deajion Citizens fan and we've been to one home game and watched an FA Cup game at home too. I'm hoping my lucky influence will hold for a bit longer...the team had been losing every game this season but they've won the two I've watched so far!

Now if only that had worked for poor old Watford too... It's not looking good for them right now :-(

Sports are us!

Friday night at the baseball and Saturday evening at the footy.

The baseball was a sell out - full house. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but it was fun anyway!





The football was the opposite! The local team play in a world cup stadium, but because they're...well, a bit rubbish, they have hardly any fans to fill it! My family and I helped to make up the numbers though and the fans are incredibly friendly. Lots of singing (I think singing is a national sport here!), flag waving and clapping. Clearly our visit helped - they won their first game of the season! Will def be going again!

Keep-fit by the river

Mum, Dad and I decided to join in with a very traditional Korean pass-time yesterday on our walk along the river here in Cheoungju - keep-fit in the big outdoors. They have gym equipment like this in loads of public spaces across the country. We think the idea is meant to be to give the people free exercise rather than free comedy but...

More family time

Some more pictures from the last week with my family here in Korea.

If you're happy and you know it...





Esther and I on an escape to the pub in Seoul!



All the girls and Jang Geun by Seoul Tower.



Lydia and I, at the fortress in Cheoungju.


Some extra wedding pictures - with me in this time. No laughing at the hanbok. I know. I know.

Songisan Mountain

After all the drinking on Sunday, what did I deicide to do on Monday? Have a sleep? Recover? Oh no! Head to the nearest mountain and climb it! Three hours up then two and a bit back down. Was worth it though - have had a lovely couple of days. Although, note to self - WEAR MORE CLOTHES WHEN CLIMBING UP HIGH MOUNTAINS. It was freezing!!

Post wedding fun

After the wedding all the young people (which still just about includes me) headed into town for more food (the really like to eat here!) and lots of drinks. Followed, of course, by the compulsory noreabang...

Esther's wedding

Where to start? A Korean wedding is very different from the traditional English one. Forget white dresses, formal sit down meals and confetti. Instead there's hanboks, eat when you want noodles and chickens!

It was a lovely day - the rain held off so the ceremony was held outside. I didn't really understand what was going on - there was a lot of alcohol drinking though! First of all, Esther had to climb into a very small box and her friends carried her up the hill to the temple. Then there was a very complicated looking ceremony involving lots of passing of cups and throwing of chickens. This was all followed by a smaller family ceremony where Mum and Dad had to throw dates and chestnuts at the happy couple! Apparently the number that get caught matches the number of children they're going to have - 3 girls and 1 boy!

A family night out

There's is something very very strange about going to a noreabang with your whole family! Still, we all lived to tell the tale. Just count yourselves lucky that the photos don't come with sound!

Sangdangsanseong Fortress - Cheongju

Perhaps the sun went to out heads?

A traditional tea shop

Real life birds in the tea shop! It does make you a little nervous of what might be in your tea...

Seoul

The view from Seoul Tower.

A traditional Korean game

Esther winning an ice cream! Jang Geun set us the challenge of managing two keepy-uppies in a row to win an ice cream. It's amazing how motivated the Sharkey girls are by food bribes!

Family time

I am now if South Korea with my sisters and parents. It was a bit of a shock to the system after two weeks all alone! Although at least I am less likely to miss flights now... Leaving Beijing should have been a very simple process. I knew where to go, I left enough time to get there...however I didn't schedule in time for a little zone out on the underground, missing my stop by four stations, jumping off the train and getting back on to retrace my steps... All was well in the end though and I arrived late but still in time to check in.

Seoul is a very different city to Beijing. It's very modern, very clean and very man-made. Even the river through the city centre looks new and shiny! My family and I have tested out the food on each other, walked miles and miles, shivered (it was freezing in the evenings!), and just about managed not to kill each other. Yesterday (Sunday) we all marched off to see Seoul Tower which is up a very big hill. My parents, Esther and her hubby went for the cable car option, while Lydia and I braved the long walk up. Partly because it was cheaper (Korea is a lot more pricey than China), partly because I fancied the exercise, but mostly because my fear of heights has had enough of an outing in the last week.

My sisters and I are now in Cheoungju, which is where Esther and Jang Geun (her husband) live. So far we've had a tour of her flat and wardrobe! Later we're off for dinner - traditional Korean indoor BBQ. Mmmm.

Beijing!

The train pulled into the city (on time! Someone should tell British Rail that it is possible...)to be greeted by grey and smog. The spring dust storms had left a rather unflattering look behind them, but not enough to hide how incredible it is. Quite simply, I loved this city. Over my few days there I discovered that I actually do like Chinese food after all (although duck feet are an exception to that rule), that I really really can't speak Chinese, and that I can, in fact, read a map!


I visited the Forbidden City on my first full day there, which was stunning - even in the rain. Had my photo taken by strangers and tasted real Peking duck...with real Peking people.













Day two was a walk in the park. Literally. Beihai Park was a lovely place to spend a day - walking, watching the locals learn to dance and scaring the shit out of myself by climbing to the top of the Jade Isle and visiting the White Pagoda.








But day three was the real winner. I trip to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Me and my fear of heights made it all the way to the top of the highest point of the wall (there were almost tears...) and back down again. It really is one of the scariest things I've done (up there with the helicopter flight over Grand Canyon) and some of the most impressive views I've ever seen. Plus it means I am now officially a hero :-) In Chinese culture you become a hero by making it to the top!

Not to mention my new celebrity status! Half way down the wall (just as I was beginning to have a panic attack about never making it down the incredibly steep stairs), a girl approached Grant (the Chinese guy who came with Ben and I for the day) and asked if she could have a photo taken with me. There followed a paparazzi style amount of photos with lots of other people asking to have a picture with me too. And all because I am beautiful...apparently. Perhaps this is why I liked china so much?!

I was sad to leave the city, and have decided to re-jig my travel plans to give me a chance to see more of the country. So after Korea, I'll be heading back to China for about three weeks before meeting Stacy in Thailand for a little sun and gossip...

The end of the world

It's Sunday and I am officially slap bang in the middle of nothing. There's nothing as far as the eye can see - with only the odd camel, horse and yak to break it up. For the first time I am without any phone signal at all. Strange that they struggle to get decent signal in Crystal Palace and yet not Siberia. Mongolia, though, is off the end of the world. I don't think I've ever felt so far from civilisation... It is stunning though - last night in particular. There was no light for miles and miles other than the nearly full moon reflecting off the ice and snow. The hills looked so dramatic as silohettes against its brightness that it took your breathe away. It was really quite special, and worth every hour of the journey so far to see. Today the hills, ice and moon have been replaced by miles and miles of desert sand in every direction. Most of the snow that was left this morning had been melted by the sun that is currently cooking me through the window and the ground looks strangely brown and dry after days and days of sparkling white.

Amazing. :-)

Beauty, borders and buglary

Saturday didn't start for me until about midday when I woke to find Lake Baikal outside my window.Having had three days of trees and snow to llok at this was a welcome change! It's huge - and was completely frozen over. According to my book it holds roughly 20% of the world's freshwater supplies - although my book was written in 2003 so I've no idea if that is still a true fact! Our train followed the lake edge for a good few hours before moving into what looked like Alpine scenery. All beautiful and all the complete opposite of the rest of what became a rather unerving day. We had to cross both the Russian exit and the Mongolian entry borders. There is nothing quite as sobering as being stranded on a train in the middle of absolutely nowhere whilst a scary looking offical wanders off with your passport for two hours. I lie, in fact there is. Having your room searched (twice), custom's documents questioned and, in Ben's case, money stolen by the Mongolian official is up there too.

When in Russia...

Night three mostly composed of vodka. Three and half litres of the stuff. My new friends and I started drinking in my room, then moved down the train to join Ceasar in his where we were treated to the delights of his film making (and camio appearance) in the form snippets from a highly sexed zombie flick. The four of us and our vodka then moved further down the train to the restaurant car to join the four guys from Norway who we'd met earlier in the day. There was a half hearted (at least in my case) attempt to learn a chinese board game with them, and then we proceeded to drink, chat and laugh through to 4.30am. Or 8.30am depending on which timezone you pick.

The train runs on Moscow time up until it crosses the Mongolian border - which means that if you follow suit you find the sun rising at 4am and setting by about 3pm.

The alcohol, late night, lay-in and hangover helped to add to the following days disorientation - to the extent that Rob and Ceasar nearly got off the train a full day early. Much sleeping, scenery watching and general laziness seemed to be the best cure and an early night fixed the rest.

And rest...

The chill has kicked in - and not the cold kind. It's very warm on the train, the scenery is stunning (as long as you like trees, snow, more trees, more snow...you get the idea), my room is comfortable and I'm feeling very relaxed. I've finished a book, started reading up on the route (apparently I've missed some interesting things...oops, from here on I plan to read about what's coming rather than what's been), and typed this ramble of a blog.

I think it's fair to say I like train travel! Although I am a little worried that I'm going to have to live on the train now forever because whenever we stop I start to get reverese motion sickness. Still, I can think of worse places...

One for the rails.

The first evening found us drinking vodka in Ben's room until 4am. So the first full day had rather a slow start. We had a station stop in the morning, where Ben and I jumped off to stretch our legs and be told George Bush jokes by the locals selling their goods on the platform. On the way back onboard we got chatting to a Korean man from our carriage...who then proceeded to force feed us hard boiled eggs, bread, crisps, sausage and coffee for the afternoon whilst telling us his life story and gently stroking Ben's leg. We were even given two CDs of Russian music, showed photos of his ex girlfriends and bought beer from the trolley as it went past. Apparently saying no was deeply upsetting, so we nodded and smiled - and, in Ben's case, fidgeted nervously.

A few beers in the restaurant car with Ceasar and Rob in the afternoon while watching the sun set over a river (I'd love to pretend I know which one, but I haven't a clue!) was followed by a quick hop off at the next station and more beers with Ben and Rob in my room. A more civillised 1am finish this time. Although that wasn't before I'd made the terrifying trip (twice) to the restaurant car for provisions - it turns out that it is very cold in Siberia and that there is, what can only be described as, a small freezer compartment (complete with snow and ice) between each carriage. It was somewhere between a trip to Iceland and Narnia.

Either way I felt distinctly like a naughty school girl by the time I got back to my room. A feeling that was re-enforced when the guard stopped me onroute. It was ok though, rather than telling me off he sold me cheap (dubious looking & tasting) Chinese beer from his person stock. Happy days.

All aboard!

So, the train. A LOT posher than I expected - and it can't be more than half full! I have my room (erm, birth?) to myself, with the top bunk folded out of the way giving me loads of space. My next door neighbour is Ben (we scared each other by meeting in the joint bathroom that links our rooms together within about 10 minutes of getting onbaord). Prep school boy (Rob) and the Spanish man are in second class a few carriages down.

I settled in, made my bed and popped next door for vodka with Ben and Rob. Only to be told off by the guard for making my bed the wrong way - and, much to my embarressment, having it made again for me. The boys didn't...perhaps I'm really rubbish at making beds?

With a little help from my friends

Tuesday 23rd March saw me staggering through Moscow with my backpack (which I swear has got heavier since I packed it), day bag, a bottle of (accidently sparkling) water, an Australian couple and a prep school grad. After 10 minutes I was sweating and weazing like an old woman and wondering why the hell I hadn't got the Metro with Ceasar the Spanish guy. But, 40 minutes later we were at the station (no thanks to me - I hadn't a clue where we were going!) in one piece. All be it a wet piece after I made the mistake of opening the water and drowning myself in bubbles in the street.

Next stop was the supermarket across the road from the station to stock up on essentials for the trip - namely vodka and noodles. Then another walk while we attempted to narrow down which of the three-in-one stations was the right one. As if by magic Ceasar appeared and rescued us - we said goodbye to the Australians who were headed in a different direction and waited for our train.