The Mainland

Hello everyone,

Here are a few pics that we took on the mainland. It was amazing . The first three nights we wandered around looking at temples and trying to find camping spots. We camped on three different beaches during the first few days. We had rented a car which gave us the chance to visit the middle of the country. The peninsula is mostly valleys and mountains. The mountains rarely reach over 1500 meters but they are covered with many trees. The last two nights we stayed in Kyongju, on the east side of the peninsula, which was the capital city during the Shilla dynasty. The Shilla Kingdom united the korean peninsula and existed for the a thousand years. It crumbled around the end of the first millenium. Kyongju has many tombs and temples that have been rebuilt and the city is a walking museum. There are things everywhere. The city had a population of around 1 million people at one time. It was really nice. We stayed for two days in this guest house and biked around to all the different places.


This is a pic of the main entrance to one of the biggest temples in Kyongju.
This is a pic of a temple we went to on our second day on the mainland. It was fantastic and the location couldn't have been more remote...a nice little hike up this steep mountain with a spectacular view.
I think my father got his main features from this protector of the buddist temples.
This is a pagota we saw at this temple. We also hiked up to the top of the mountain and we were rewarded richly with the stunning view.
This is were we camped on the first night. It was a dry bed of a river. The mist was really beautiful in the morning.
A long walk up to get to your house but this house was in the region were the Kim family of Korea lived for centuries.

The mainland was cool because we were able to see what it really is like in Korea. The scenery was amazing. There were hills and valleys everywhere and we had the chance to visit the East coast. There were many beaches along the way.
It was cool and everybody was friendly even if sometimes you wonder if they have ever seen a foreigner before. Defintely an amazing trip.

Take care,
Christian and Karina

Our favorite mode of transportation

Hello Everyone,
These are our bikes that we use to get around the island when we are not too lazy. The bikes are a little small for me but we have adjusted everything to make it work. We usually go out three times a week for an hour or two depending on the weather. It's alot of fun racing down the hills and speeding past the koreans on there mounain bikes. The bikes are korean-made but the frames are made of aluminium which makes them really light. We are hoping to bring them back home depending on the costs. Hope to be riding with you soon ETs.

Talk to you all soon,
Christian and Karina

Random pics of our last few weeks

This a pic of twenty of us playing paintball. We had a blast. All we had was some pretty old guns and we didn't have any coveralls. It was a very small place to play but we still had fun.
This is a pic of the south side from the top of Hallasan. It was cloudy that day but it was a lot a fun. It is about an 8 hour climb up and down.
This is the crater at the top of Hallasan. It was a little cloudy which was nice cause it was a thirty plus day. We had a lot of fun.
The last two pics are of a day at the beach were we caught the sunset. We were there all day playing in the water and on the sand. It was a lot of fun.

Travel plans

Hello everyone,

We are still alive and well. Everything is great. We are just trying to finalise our travel plans. It will 6 months of travelling half around the world. If anyone is around these countries around these dates please let us know. We would love to see ya.

China - December 1- 14, 2006

Vietnam - December 15 - 27

Cambodia - December 28, 2006 - January 7, 2007

Thailand - January 7 - February 14

NZ - Feb 15 - April 16

Aus - April 17 - May 17

Fiji - May 17 to June 4, 2007

Then, I am going to Vancouver and crossing the country to be home in Ottawa on July 1st Canada Day and Karina is going home.

Later

Christian and Karina