Get thee to a nunnery! (Seoul to Daejion)

Been a long and busy day, left our wonderful hosts @ Hanyang University (we were picked up from our dorms in a black limo-van that was used to transport Barack Obama when he visited Korea during the campaign)...




... we departed on a very full bus (couldn't fit all our luggage in the cargo hold so a half dozen suitcases clogged the aisle) this morning to head out to Sung Kyul University where we performed a short programme in a lousy acoustic for a captive and mostly sleeping audience, apparently we interrupted their naptime.

Then they led us to a much nicer hall in order for us to listen to their handbell choir practice for a half hour...



... then back to Seoul, where we did another mini-concert for the Seoul Women's Chorus.

On the drive there, we saw some riot police quelling a group of protesters, we couldn't figure out what they were protesting though.





After the concert, we led a workshop on African choral music (thus tying in the rep from the end of our full show)... was pretty cool teaching the Korean women to boogie!







Afterwards the ladies took us out for this wonderful chicken feast involving small game hens stuffed with rice and stewed in small individual iron pots, yum!

We then had a 2+ hr bus ride to Daejon, our HQ for the next 2 days. Our original accommodations got messed up, so we were diverted to... a CONVENT! So, no drinking and we're expected to be very quiet. There was some further confusion on room aasignments, as Greg, Alex, Rick & I were given a tiny closet of a room with only 2 eensy beds... yeah right, we'll get lots of sleep there!

We got it worked out though, and even discovered the nunnery has a good wifi connection, enough for a decent skype call home even!

Busy day tomorrow and the phone's running out of juice, so I'd best sign off.

I leave you with today's strange misspelled (?) product...



... I suspect they maybe meant CrunCHy or CHunky, but who knows? G'nite!

-- Post From My iPhone

Hanyang ROCKS!!!

Had a good concert today, very appreciative and enthusiastic audience, much like I remember from my 1st trip to Korea a decade ago.

After the show our hosts took us out for a multi-course (like 30) Korean feast! Very good, although some dishes were pushing my boundaries some, I only had to sit out on three of them due to their inherent mushroominess.

No pix on this post as the phone's 'running on fumes' so I've been leaving the camera alone.

Wi-fi's pretty flaky where I'm at, have to sit outside to get any signal at all, but it's a beautiful night and Korean laws are ok with the public consumption of alcohol so I'm enjoying a beer while I type.

Tried calling home via Skype but the wi-fi signal was so weak it was a frustrating experience, will try again tomorrow. G'nite.



-- Post From My iPhone

The Old Boys Club

So as I'd mentioned in a previous post, there are 6 in our tour group between 40-60 yrs old and we were put in our own university residences instead of doing homestays with the rest of the choir.

I thought we were going to be on our own today to explore Seoul via subway, but shortly after 9am a Hanyang University coach shows up and we are taken on a tour of the city, including a visit to one of the palaces, a famous tower which name I've forgotten, lunch then out to In Sa Dong, a big open market (mostly touristy stuff). They didn't let us pay for anything.

My only complaint was that lunch was Western and huge, so when we went to In Sa Dong I was too full to take proper advantage of the many street vendors selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things.

































Previous trips to Asia I always had fun marvelling at the different cars, but with the relative globalization of the auto industry, there's much less difference now. However, there's a lot of really cool scoots on the road, the one in this pic is fairly common, check out the full-body crash bar!

Got to go inside and get changed for tonight's show, bye for now.


-- Post From My iPhone

Ah, Korea, land of the fishy ice cream

Ok, on so many levels this has got to be just plain WRONG! This came from the freezer section of the store alongside drumsticks, fudgesicles and other assorted ice creamy goodies... but FISHY ICE CREAM?! You gotta be kidding me. So of course, I bought it!








It turns out it ain't half bad. The outside is the same wafery stuff they make cones out of, and the inside was just vanilla ice cream with some sort of jam (may have been bean paste)... was quite good and wasn't at all fishy.

-- Post From My iPhone

Start of day 1, or is it day 3?

April 29/09...

7am on Wednesday (3pm Tues afternoon at home), as we lose a day going over the intl date line. When we return, May 18 ends up being a 40 hr day as we land in Vancouver before we take off!

So last night was a bit of a wash... the 'old guys' were actually put in campus dorms rather than homestays, I'm a bit mixed feeling about that. On one side, it would've been nice to get to know our hosts better, although it was nice to just chill in our rooms with a beer, as wiped as we all were.



However by this point I was starved, having been hours since our last meal, and with no hosts to feed us, we were on our own. We ended up going to the local convenience store, but found ourselves unable to decipher most of the packaging, so we bought what we could recognize...



... suffice to say supper did not exceed my expectations. There is apparently a cafeteria in this building that is opening shortly, I think I will go in search of breakfast soon.

There is free wifi on campus, unfortunately it doesn't reach this dormroom, so as I sign off I will be saving this entry to post later when I can get a signal. Needless to say, Skype is also not possible without a decent wifi signal, so no phonecalls home yet.

Update before sending... had brekky at the cafeteria... 2 kinds of kimchee, thin corn broth with sprouts, some sort of thin pork stew & a strange sort of coleslaw with bananas & cucumber, alongside a heap of sticky rice, was very good.

Here's a picture of our residence.



We have a free day until 5pm, so we're hitting the subway to explore. Bye for now.

-- Post From My iPhone

Almost there...

Tues April 28/09...

Well, as flights go, this has been one of the best I've ever been on, Korean Air has most definitely improved since they tried to kill me 10 yrs back. They've fed us two good (if a bit small) meals, drinks have been flowing freely (I like Korean beer) and this new in-flight entertainment system is freekin' COOL!

Still, 11 hours on a plane is taking its toll... my chest is very tight from the confined space and stale air. We land in 40 minutes, 5:30pm on Tuesday, despite it still feeling like the middle of the previous night.

I managed to get a couple hours sleep spread amongst a few catnaps throughout, still looking forward to bedtime though, hopefully our hosts understand.


-- Post From My iPhone

cool plane

April 27/09...

Flying on a brand spanking new Boeing 777, with very cool inflight entertainment system.

Watching Two and a half men right now, video on demand, will play some games in a bit, seat's aren't too bad either, will be the quickest 11 hr flight I've been methinks.

Can't post now (no wifi in the air) so by the time this is posted I'll already have landed.






-- Post From My iPhone

at the airport

April 27/09...

Boarding soon, had a couple beer with the other 'over 30' types to relax before the flight, wifi's finicky here, one post failed, this is 2nd try. Will post again on the other side.



-- Post From My iPhone

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

... but not before I'm leaving in a van, a ferry and a taxi... then I'm leavin' on a jet plane. Will likely post more today while I'm bored at the airport. Buh-bye!

Testing the iPhone software

April 27/09...

Ok, let's see how this works, then I think it's gotta be off to hit the rack, sleepy or not, it's gonna be an early day tomorrow.



This is a shot of poor tired Mickie who's staying up with me, ain't she a darling? I needed to test the blog/photo software on the iPhone, seems to work. G'nite...

-- Post From My iPhone

Itinerary

April 27/09...

Ok, here's the itinerary, in case anyone wants to follow along...

Sun, Apr 26, 2009 Pre-tour concert
Mon, Apr 27, 2009 Checkin at Vancouver airport - 11:30 am (suggest 7am ferry from Victoria)
Departure 2:20pm - Korean Air: KE72
Tue, Apr 28, 2009 arr. Incheon Airport 5:40p -met by Hanyang University - Homestay at Hanyang.
Wed, Apr 29, 2009 Hanyang University - Morning & afternoon free, 6pm rehearsal, Evening concert
Thu, Apr 30, 2009 Morning rehearsal followed by 45-minute concert at Seongyeol University
1pm - ->Transit to Daejeon for evening joint concert with women's choir (~2-3 hrs transit)
Dajeon accomodation
Fri, May 1, 2009 Morning/afternoon 45-minute concert Sungshil University (part of school festival)
Evening church concert. Accommodations in Daejeon
Sat, May 2, 2009 Transit to Sokcho (5~6hrs transit depending on traffic)
5:30 mass rehearsal 6:00 Victoria rehearsal 7:30 concert.
Dinner at the ANAM plaza sky lounge buffet
Accommodations at the traditional village beside the city museum.
Sun, May 3, 2009 Breakfast followed by trip to DMZ. 1pm workshop with Sokcho Choir. Afternoon to Seorak
Mountain, hiking, vegetarian dinner and accomodation at Baekdamsa Temple
Mon, May 4, 2009 Breakfast at Temple, transfer to Yangyang - 7pm concert
Tue, May 5, 2009 Morning departure for Seoul, 4:30 check-in at Incheon Airport
Depart Seoul - 6:30pm, arr. Phnom Penh - 10:00pm - KE689
Wed, May 6, 2009 Phnom Penh - rehearse, visit shool, museum & palace
Thu, May 7, 2009 Phnom Penh - trip to Kep (beach)
Fri, May 8, 2009 Phnom Penh - visit RUFA, KAVTV, market
Sat, May 9, 2009 Phnom Penh - afternoon & evening concert
Sun, May 10, 2009 Bus to Siem Reap
Mon, May 11, 2009 Siem Reap - 5 am trip to Angkor Wat - floating market etc.
Tue, May 12, 2009 Depart Siem Reap 9:45 am, (PG924) arr. Bangkok - 10:50 am, - Greet at airport. Pick up and
come to Ruamrudee International School. Welcoming (1:00 - 2:35 pm) and pick up by host
families after 3 pm (depending onthe family and students' aftershool activiti
Wed, May 13, 2009 Free day in Bangkok: Chatuchak market, River Cruise, visit temples.
Thu, May 14, 2009 7am arrive at school: workshops, performance at school Afternoon bus to "Redeemer's Hall in
Bangkok for joint concert with School choir. Hosts pick up singers and return them to homes.
Fri, May 15, 2009 Morning visit to Ancient City - 4:40 checkin at Bangkok Airport, depart 6:45 pm,(Thai Airways:
TG602) arr. Hong Kong 10:30pm
Sat, May 16, 2009 Hong Kong - R &R only
Sun, May 17, 2009 Hong Kong - R &R only
Mon, May 18, 2009 10:30am checkin at Hong Kong Airport Depart for Seoul - 12:25 noon (KE604) arr. 5pm, depart
Seoul 6:20, (KE71) arr. Vancouver 12:05 noon.

First post - the night before

April 27/09...

Well, it's late... coming on 1am... am tying up what things I can think of before heading off to bed, hopefully to sleep... I'm too excited to get much useful rest likely.

I'm all packed up... managed to keep the suitcase fairly light, but my carry-on is pretty loaded down as I'm packing a lot of extra stuff in preparation for visiting Cambodia (anti-malarial meds, antibiotics in case I pick up a case of the travelpoops, etc), plus the obligatory travel pack of wetwipes, as toilet paper is a curiously western innovation, a lot of Asian countries still use... ok, you don't want to know what they use... needless to say a travel bottle of antibacterial gel is also a must.

I was just putting an email together for relatives to pass along the tour itinerary and letting them know how to get in touch with me while I'm overseas, when it occurred to me that maybe I should start up a blog so I can more easily post pictures and share gory details while I'm gone... so here we are!

Today was really busy, tired from this weekend's rehearsals and concerts in Nanaimo and missing my boy Steve while he was on his first choir trip to Whistler with VIVA... then the packing started... Mick & I headed out to coffee @ Timmie's to visit with some riding friends... then off to the mall to look for a few last minute travel items. At 3pm I was at St. Aidan's church for PRIMA's pre-tour concert... good-sized audience, very enthusiastic, we sang mostly pretty well, some tuning weirdness but overall it was a good show.

VIVA's tour bus got on the ferry an hour earlier than planned, so Steve showed up for the last half of the concert (their departure/arrival place was also St. Aidan's church). Good to see the boy, he had a great time this weekend and is really proud of himself for having his first weekend away from Mom & Dad (we survived too).

Ok, so this blog thing seems to work ok, will post my itinerary in my next post, and I suppose I should test out the iPhone blogging software to make sure it works. That's all for now.