The Second Snow

While Amanda, Ray and Damo were here, we were lucky enough to experience our second big snowfall. Once again waking to a white wonderland, we ventured up our local mini-mountain, Bonghwasan, to play.

Amanda and Ray (brought to you by Kathmandu) at Bonghwasan

Damo trying to perfect the snowball - not sure whether he realised he was throwing this one towards his own camera!

It was all fun and games, until the intrepid travelers struck a mini-blizzard on our mini-mountain...

Trent and some horizontal snow

Ray and Trent in a gray haze

Alas, Trent was not going to let the elements affect his exercise regime...

Trent utilises the free-to-use weights and mirrors (?!) on Bonghwasan

Fortunately, the mini-blizzard appeared to be isolated to Bonghwasan so we actually had a pleasant day viewing Gyeongbokgung (one of Seoul's largest palaces) in all its winter splendour.

One for Ma and Pa- Me, Amanda and Damo in front of Gyeongbokgung's frozen lake pavilion

Icicles of Gyeongbokgung

The changing of the guard

One of the funky wine bars near the palace displays their used bottles- rain, hail, shine... or snow

La La La...

We've tried to put off the inevitable, but alas, we could not keep these shots a secret any longer. By popular demand here is the norae bang (singing room) montage. Of course we waited until we had company to do this post, so that we could embarrass some other people we well- not to mention the fact that we actually hit the norae bang three times during their stay- it's addictive, okay!

This photo (courtesy of Damo) actually makes the atmosphere of the norae bang look classier than it actually is. Here is the truth...

A soulful number from Trent- probably one of his countless Oasis favourites

Reconnecting with my Aussie roots, Amanda and I belt out a little Kylie... can you see my arm is actually doing a little loco-motion action?!

Back to a slow number for Ray and Amanda.. aahhh

Damo lights up the stage with a Chilli Peppers' classic

And here is a glimpse of the instrumental accompaniment... and also a glimpse of the lovely interior design of the VIP norae bang that we road-tested

So, if you have some deep-seeded, childhood desire to belt your lungs out and wake up with a coarse and husky voice, come join us in Seoul for a little norae bang!

Bright and Icy Seoul

Seoul government goes all out with the Christmas lights- the naked branches of hundreds of trees are shrouded in golden lights and intricate metal frames of coloured lights line Cheonggye Stream and the city's central outdoor ice skating rink. On one of the coldest days in Seoul to-date (around -12), we ventured out for some light viewing and people watching.

The main attraction of the Seoul lights extravaganza- "Luce Vista"

Ice skating in front of Seoul's city hall

Five days after Christmas, Santa was sighted in Seoul!

And then he sighted us and insisted on photos with the girls!

A nice shot of Luce Vista

Three layers of clothes, coats, scarves, gloves, beanies, and body warmth and Amanda and I were still cold!

Happy New Year's and goodbye Phoebe

We've had a pretty hectic month, starting with my sister Amanda and her boyfriend Ray arriving in a couple of days before NYE. We have heaps of news and photos to post, but will just start off with a couple from NYE, which we spent at Hongdae - a uni student hangout in central west Seoul.

Ray, Amanda, Me and Trent- enjoying a midnight bubbly at a cool bar in Hongdae

Phoebe, the fellow Novocastrian whom we met on our trip to North Korea, has headed back to Aus now. We spend our last night together with two other Novocastrians that Phoebe had met along the way- I'm sure if there are anymore out there amongst Korea's 48 million people, we will find them before we leave!

Me, Trent and Phoebe