Christmas in Korea

It was quite a relief to be back in Korea after surviving balmy Thailand for a month and a half. We were dreaming of cold climates and hot showers. We were also very excited to have access to Korean food once again.

On Chrsitmas Eve, one of our friends had a party. They fired up a large ham, mashed potatoes, homemade egg-nog with a little rum, cheese, cake and desserts. It was more than ever could be expected in Korea and it made our evening complete.

We returned home pretty late from the party but our inner child got the best of us. We tore open our presents and decorated the apartment floor with ribbon and paper.

Christmas Day was fairly lazy. We awoke to snow on the ground and flying sideways through the air. It had been a long time since I have seen a white Christmas so I was stoked. We lounged around the house for a while and Peter made his famous omlettes which he only makes on very special occasions and only for a select few. Later, we headed for the mountain and the temple just outside of town. The sun danced behind the clouds lighting up the surrounding peaks. Thoughly ill-dressed we headed home shortly after the sun set behind the mountains and the valley grew cold and dim.

This year was a surprisingly nice time. We are anxious about the coming year and very excited about being back.

Date December 25th, 2002

Where Daejeon, Gyeryongsan, South Korea

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Climbing in Thailand

These pics were the usual sites that we saw everyday. Gorgeous sunsets, limestone cliffs hundreds of feet high and climbers by the hundreds. Sometimes it was a little crowded, but take a short walk to a new wall and you were rewarded with a wall all to yourself. The other guy in the pictures is Bill. I met him on the boat to the beach and since neither of us had a climbing partner we climbed together for the next three weeks. Our climbing styles complemented each others and by the end of the trip we were both climbing much harder stuff than when we started. And if the climbing wasnt enough, almost every evening I watched the sun setting over the Andaman Sea as I threw down some paht thai and a Singha Beer. I would love to get back here come next August after I have a little more strenthg and skills and hit another fraction of the climbs in the area. In three weeks Bill and I only climbed about 5 percent of the climbs on Tonsai beach and the surrounding areas....

Date November 18th, 2002

Where Krabi, Thailand

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