How to stay alive on the sidewalks of Korea...
So true, it's scary!
Thanks Max for passing this one on.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
English. How hard can it be?
Whirly-gig, thing-a-me-bob, wee-dodad, whosy-whatsit, thingy, doohickey, jigit, widget, gizmo, whosiwhacky,thingamajig, doodad, thingummy, gizmotchie, whatsit, do-whicky, do-wacky,
do-lolly, dohatchie, gizwidget, dooflautchee, doovalacky, whatchamathingie, loomaflachchee, grapplegrommet, mobywixit, whatchamacallit, wotsit, and my favourite, wing wong for a goose's bridle.
I love these words! There should be more like them! And these are just words for things... There are others too you know...
For numbers, we have:
squillion, bajillion, buhmillion, frillion, gazillion, jillion, kajillion, schmillion, zillion eleventy-first, mumblety, umpteen, oodles, scads, buckets.
For names we use:
Tom, Dick and Harry, So-and-so, Buddy, Whasisname, Joe Bloggs, Fred Bloggs (cousin of Joe :), Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe (Not quite as rich as Joe Blow), The Joneses, Mrs Kafoops, Lord & Lady Muck, and if you're an Aussie there's the all encompassing Mate!
Or when giving directions:
Out the back o' Burke, somewhere near the black stump, beyond woop woop, just to the left of Timbucktoo. (These are all common Aussie directions)
To places such as:
Auchterturra, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Rubber-Boot, Waikikamukau (pronounced ‘Why kick a moo-cow’), or Joe's Diner,
And who says English is difficult? Let's just look for a moment at our wonderful language:
There's the pronunciation:
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
We got into a row about how to row a boat.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The wind was too strong to wind up the sail.
The accountant at the music store records records of the records.
And then there's the paradoxes:
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French-fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
Quicksand is slow and so is rush-hour (which often lasts a lot longer than an hour).
Boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
Why do writers write, but fingers don't fing?
Grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
You can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
We have noses that run and feet that smell?
(much of this comes from the website: English is difficult! check it out...)
Whirly-gig, thing-a-me-bob, wee-dodad, whosy-whatsit, thingy, doohickey, jigit, widget, gizmo, whosiwhacky,thingamajig, doodad, thingummy, gizmotchie, whatsit, do-whicky, do-wacky,
do-lolly, dohatchie, gizwidget, dooflautchee, doovalacky, whatchamathingie, loomaflachchee, grapplegrommet, mobywixit, whatchamacallit, wotsit, and my favourite, wing wong for a goose's bridle.
I love these words! There should be more like them! And these are just words for things... There are others too you know...
For numbers, we have:
squillion, bajillion, buhmillion, frillion, gazillion, jillion, kajillion, schmillion, zillion eleventy-first, mumblety, umpteen, oodles, scads, buckets.
For names we use:
Tom, Dick and Harry, So-and-so, Buddy, Whasisname, Joe Bloggs, Fred Bloggs (cousin of Joe :), Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe (Not quite as rich as Joe Blow), The Joneses, Mrs Kafoops, Lord & Lady Muck, and if you're an Aussie there's the all encompassing Mate!
Or when giving directions:
Out the back o' Burke, somewhere near the black stump, beyond woop woop, just to the left of Timbucktoo. (These are all common Aussie directions)
To places such as:
Auchterturra, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Rubber-Boot, Waikikamukau (pronounced ‘Why kick a moo-cow’), or Joe's Diner,
And who says English is difficult? Let's just look for a moment at our wonderful language:
There's the pronunciation:
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
We got into a row about how to row a boat.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The wind was too strong to wind up the sail.
The accountant at the music store records records of the records.
And then there's the paradoxes:
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French-fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
Quicksand is slow and so is rush-hour (which often lasts a lot longer than an hour).
Boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
Why do writers write, but fingers don't fing?
Grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
You can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
We have noses that run and feet that smell?
And sometimes the same words have opposite meanings:
When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? Have you ever noticed that overlook and oversee are opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? Recently, the weather can be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?
We often talk about things only when they are absent?
Have you ever seen a horsefull carriage or a strapfull gown?
Met a sung hero or experienced requited love?
Have you ever run into someone who was gruntled or ruly?
(much of this comes from the website: English is difficult! check it out...)
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Ummmmm
I have nothing to write about but I'm bored and feel like writting so I'm just gonna write a stream of consciousness and see where it takes me. Why do they call it a "stream"? It makes my consciousness sound all wet and slushy and gloopy. Not that I have anything against water....
And I love slushies.
But I hate gloop!
Is gloop a word?
Hate... now there's a word we hear too often. I'm sorry, I take it back... I have a deep abiding, strong anti-liking for gloop. Now I'm sounding like a Canadian. How PC can you get? No one does PC as well as a Canadian? Is that very anti-PC of me to say so? See I'm crap at this!
Crap... now there's a word we shy away from. Rightly so too. Not the Koreans though. They are fine with this particular bodily function. I was watching a TV show on Sunday (or was it Saturday) at about 10 in the morning and they showed, quite clearly, someone pooing his pants! Yuck! Not something I wanna see when I'm having my Sunday breakfast.
Not that I eat breakfast on Sunday. Actually I don't really eat breakfast, but if I was going to, I would most likely do it on a Sunday. Last Sunday was a great day. It was what a Sunday is all about. The day started nice and early at about 9am. I hung with some friends, watched "crappy" TV and then went to one of the coolest coffee shops I've encountered in Korea. Sitting on a deck (yes, it really had a deck) with some great friends (one very cool one I'd only met the night before) drinking coffee in the sun, listening to chilled music... what more could you want.
Truly it's the simple pleasures in life that make things worth while. I like sunshine. I like mountains and beaches. I like laughter. I like companionable silence. I like kids laughter. Adults laughter isn't to bad either. Especially when it comes from a little old Halmonie. Doesn't happen often, but when it does it lights up my life.
Halmonies... now there's an interesting topic here in Korea. The little old ladies who seem to be so frail and yet I'm sure they are the backbone of this country... Anyone younger than them seem to think so!
Monique likes cheese.
Sorry... couldn't think of anything just then. I guess that's called blocking the flow of the stream of consciousness. I wonder if you can stop thinking?
Nope... still thinking.
Pineapple... I bet now I've said pineapple, you can't stop thinking about pineapple... or at least, I bet it keeps jumping into your head for the next few minutes. Why is it that when we get something in our heads that we don't want there, it keeps coming back. Like "Yellow Submarine". I hate that song and yet when ever I hear it, or even the words, my mind rebels on me and keeps singing it in the background.
"We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine...
We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine."
Do you all hate me now?
Back to pineapples. There is a strange phenomenon here in the Po. At one of the main intersections in town, we have people walking up and down the lanes between red lights, selling slices of pineapple. This has to be one of the most dangerous jobs in this country. Have you seen the disregard drivers have for lines on the road... or road rules in general.
Mind you, it's the chaos theory in motion. It works. Mitchell Feigenbaum, Benoit Mandelbrot, James Yorke, you guys were on to something. Maybe a little strange looking at butterflies, but you want proof, come check out the driving here in Korea!
Because no one follows the rules, chaos seems to rule, but if you look closely, there are not as many accidents as one would expect. I think if I were to actually follow the road rules (as I know them) then I would probably cause an accident. Therefore, I think it highly unfair that I've been averaging one speeding ticket a month. Then again, that's only been since I put my Waygook Saram (I'm a foreigner) sticker on my car.... Hmmm? Coincidence?
Still stuck on that pineapple thing.
Ooo I got an e-mail... hang on, be right back....
MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm Kimchi banana bread. Koreans would love it.
Burma! Sorry I panicked.
How can Monty Python be so funny and so terrible at the same time. Where is Burma by the way. For someone who wants to travel around the world on a motorcycle, I really don't know my geography very well. Is it a city or country? How many countries are there? I've lost count. They keep changing them. Every time I look at a new map, they seem to have thrown on another country. If you had to make up the name for a country what would you call it?
Names. I seem to go through stages with being attracted to certain sounding names. My first few girlfriends were (in order) Cassandra, Sandy, Cindy, Mandy. Then there's the whole M thing. The letter M doesn't seem to be working out for me... or maybe it is. But all my long term girlfriends names have started with M. What does this mean? Does it mean anything? Wow... now I'm sounding like a girl. Over analysing stuff is really good for messing with your head. I'm gonna get some flack from that last comment aren't I?
Do you still call it paranoid if it's real? And how can you have a paranoid android? Well... I guess Martin is a paranoid android, but he was from a TV show and I'm fairly sure he's not real.
Why do our eyes get glued to a tv even when it isn't interesting? Here in Korea, they have some of the worst TV I've ever encountered in the world... and that's the English speaking shows. Check out On Style channel if you ever swing by here. the expats here will know what I'm talking about. But it seems just because it's in English, we can't stop watching it. And if a TV is on in a bar or restaurant, our eyes automatically swing towards it. Why is this so?
You're still here? And still reading this garbage? Man, you must be almost as bored as I am.
Ok, I'm going now.
"We all live in a......."
(hehe yes I'm evil!)
I have nothing to write about but I'm bored and feel like writting so I'm just gonna write a stream of consciousness and see where it takes me. Why do they call it a "stream"? It makes my consciousness sound all wet and slushy and gloopy. Not that I have anything against water....
And I love slushies.
But I hate gloop!
Is gloop a word?
Hate... now there's a word we hear too often. I'm sorry, I take it back... I have a deep abiding, strong anti-liking for gloop. Now I'm sounding like a Canadian. How PC can you get? No one does PC as well as a Canadian? Is that very anti-PC of me to say so? See I'm crap at this!
Crap... now there's a word we shy away from. Rightly so too. Not the Koreans though. They are fine with this particular bodily function. I was watching a TV show on Sunday (or was it Saturday) at about 10 in the morning and they showed, quite clearly, someone pooing his pants! Yuck! Not something I wanna see when I'm having my Sunday breakfast.
Not that I eat breakfast on Sunday. Actually I don't really eat breakfast, but if I was going to, I would most likely do it on a Sunday. Last Sunday was a great day. It was what a Sunday is all about. The day started nice and early at about 9am. I hung with some friends, watched "crappy" TV and then went to one of the coolest coffee shops I've encountered in Korea. Sitting on a deck (yes, it really had a deck) with some great friends (one very cool one I'd only met the night before) drinking coffee in the sun, listening to chilled music... what more could you want.
Truly it's the simple pleasures in life that make things worth while. I like sunshine. I like mountains and beaches. I like laughter. I like companionable silence. I like kids laughter. Adults laughter isn't to bad either. Especially when it comes from a little old Halmonie. Doesn't happen often, but when it does it lights up my life.
Halmonies... now there's an interesting topic here in Korea. The little old ladies who seem to be so frail and yet I'm sure they are the backbone of this country... Anyone younger than them seem to think so!
Monique likes cheese.
Sorry... couldn't think of anything just then. I guess that's called blocking the flow of the stream of consciousness. I wonder if you can stop thinking?
Nope... still thinking.
Pineapple... I bet now I've said pineapple, you can't stop thinking about pineapple... or at least, I bet it keeps jumping into your head for the next few minutes. Why is it that when we get something in our heads that we don't want there, it keeps coming back. Like "Yellow Submarine". I hate that song and yet when ever I hear it, or even the words, my mind rebels on me and keeps singing it in the background.
"We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine...
We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine."
Do you all hate me now?
Back to pineapples. There is a strange phenomenon here in the Po. At one of the main intersections in town, we have people walking up and down the lanes between red lights, selling slices of pineapple. This has to be one of the most dangerous jobs in this country. Have you seen the disregard drivers have for lines on the road... or road rules in general.
Mind you, it's the chaos theory in motion. It works. Mitchell Feigenbaum, Benoit Mandelbrot, James Yorke, you guys were on to something. Maybe a little strange looking at butterflies, but you want proof, come check out the driving here in Korea!
Because no one follows the rules, chaos seems to rule, but if you look closely, there are not as many accidents as one would expect. I think if I were to actually follow the road rules (as I know them) then I would probably cause an accident. Therefore, I think it highly unfair that I've been averaging one speeding ticket a month. Then again, that's only been since I put my Waygook Saram (I'm a foreigner) sticker on my car.... Hmmm? Coincidence?
Still stuck on that pineapple thing.
Ooo I got an e-mail... hang on, be right back....
MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm Kimchi banana bread. Koreans would love it.
Burma! Sorry I panicked.
How can Monty Python be so funny and so terrible at the same time. Where is Burma by the way. For someone who wants to travel around the world on a motorcycle, I really don't know my geography very well. Is it a city or country? How many countries are there? I've lost count. They keep changing them. Every time I look at a new map, they seem to have thrown on another country. If you had to make up the name for a country what would you call it?
Names. I seem to go through stages with being attracted to certain sounding names. My first few girlfriends were (in order) Cassandra, Sandy, Cindy, Mandy. Then there's the whole M thing. The letter M doesn't seem to be working out for me... or maybe it is. But all my long term girlfriends names have started with M. What does this mean? Does it mean anything? Wow... now I'm sounding like a girl. Over analysing stuff is really good for messing with your head. I'm gonna get some flack from that last comment aren't I?
Do you still call it paranoid if it's real? And how can you have a paranoid android? Well... I guess Martin is a paranoid android, but he was from a TV show and I'm fairly sure he's not real.
Why do our eyes get glued to a tv even when it isn't interesting? Here in Korea, they have some of the worst TV I've ever encountered in the world... and that's the English speaking shows. Check out On Style channel if you ever swing by here. the expats here will know what I'm talking about. But it seems just because it's in English, we can't stop watching it. And if a TV is on in a bar or restaurant, our eyes automatically swing towards it. Why is this so?
You're still here? And still reading this garbage? Man, you must be almost as bored as I am.
Ok, I'm going now.
"We all live in a......."
(hehe yes I'm evil!)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Bikido
Bikido....? What is Bikido I hear you ask? Is it some form of Korean martial arts? How about a strange food? I know... it's the 10 step path to enlightenment!
Well, no. Althought that last one sounds good.
:)
Bikido is the amazing, legendary duo of Matt and Darren. Two talented musicians resident here in Korea. The origins of the name Bikido is as brilliant as it is original. When discussing attire for their up coming gig, Darren happily announced he would be arriving in his best pair of speedo's, to which Matt replied it would match very nicely with his bikini.... thus the bikini & speedo'd duo of Bikido!
Thankfully there must have been a mix up in the wardrobe department as both the boys came in respectable jeans and shirt type clothing... but there was no mix up in their music. A wonderful mix of modern covers and originals left the crowed relaxed, happy and having a great time.
Thanks guys for a great night out.
Bikido....? What is Bikido I hear you ask? Is it some form of Korean martial arts? How about a strange food? I know... it's the 10 step path to enlightenment!
Well, no. Althought that last one sounds good.
:)
Bikido is the amazing, legendary duo of Matt and Darren. Two talented musicians resident here in Korea. The origins of the name Bikido is as brilliant as it is original. When discussing attire for their up coming gig, Darren happily announced he would be arriving in his best pair of speedo's, to which Matt replied it would match very nicely with his bikini.... thus the bikini & speedo'd duo of Bikido!
Thankfully there must have been a mix up in the wardrobe department as both the boys came in respectable jeans and shirt type clothing... but there was no mix up in their music. A wonderful mix of modern covers and originals left the crowed relaxed, happy and having a great time.
Thanks guys for a great night out.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Lamentable Lappy
Please bow your heads and send up a prayer to the Great God of Gizmos, Gadgets and Gigabites...
Fred my constant friend and companion... a source of entertainment, wonder (and yes... a lot of frustration) is no more.
Last night at approximately midnight, my laptop shutdown for the last time. After numerous attempts to revive him, it was clear his last spark of energy... his last 1's and 0's had been passed.
I'd like to take a moment to remember the good times....
It was the year of 2003 I went on a quest to the tower in the heart of the city to find that which would fulfill my greatest desire. Alas it wasn't to be found here. It seemed my quest would take me to further, less traveled paths. After a few phone calls, I was advised to go to one of their partner stores and I would find what I was after.
At 3pm (with very little time before I was to start work) I walked into the Yotobashi Mega-store in Umeda, Osaka, Japan. A place full of electrical wonder and wizardry. I soon found my way to
the section I was after and it was here, just minutes later that I first saw Fred. My new Sony Vaio Laptop.
With a whole 1.8Ghz processing power, 80 whole Gb's of hard disk space and 256mb (later upgraded to 1Gb) of ram, this was the computer of my dreams. Windows XP and fully set up for maximum multimedia output, I couldn't ask for anything more.
It was the begining of a beautiful partnership. Together we would build whole worlds of website imagery to be thrown up into that great place of ether... the internet. We burnt disks, we surfed the net and it was Fred who kept me in contact with my closest of friends. That's right, it was he that helped me to become the socialite that I am today.
Alas, after almost 4 years of faithful service, with hardly a glitch in his sparkly little system, Fred is finally ready to move on to the Great Recycle Heap of Electronics.
We shall miss you dearly Fred.
:(
(PS for those of you who don't understand a word of what was just said... my computer has just crashed and died!)
Please bow your heads and send up a prayer to the Great God of Gizmos, Gadgets and Gigabites...
Fred my constant friend and companion... a source of entertainment, wonder (and yes... a lot of frustration) is no more.
Last night at approximately midnight, my laptop shutdown for the last time. After numerous attempts to revive him, it was clear his last spark of energy... his last 1's and 0's had been passed.
I'd like to take a moment to remember the good times....
It was the year of 2003 I went on a quest to the tower in the heart of the city to find that which would fulfill my greatest desire. Alas it wasn't to be found here. It seemed my quest would take me to further, less traveled paths. After a few phone calls, I was advised to go to one of their partner stores and I would find what I was after.
At 3pm (with very little time before I was to start work) I walked into the Yotobashi Mega-store in Umeda, Osaka, Japan. A place full of electrical wonder and wizardry. I soon found my way to
the section I was after and it was here, just minutes later that I first saw Fred. My new Sony Vaio Laptop.
With a whole 1.8Ghz processing power, 80 whole Gb's of hard disk space and 256mb (later upgraded to 1Gb) of ram, this was the computer of my dreams. Windows XP and fully set up for maximum multimedia output, I couldn't ask for anything more.
It was the begining of a beautiful partnership. Together we would build whole worlds of website imagery to be thrown up into that great place of ether... the internet. We burnt disks, we surfed the net and it was Fred who kept me in contact with my closest of friends. That's right, it was he that helped me to become the socialite that I am today.
Alas, after almost 4 years of faithful service, with hardly a glitch in his sparkly little system, Fred is finally ready to move on to the Great Recycle Heap of Electronics.
We shall miss you dearly Fred.
:(
(PS for those of you who don't understand a word of what was just said... my computer has just crashed and died!)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Introducing "Billie" my new Beemer.
I have finally done it! I am now the proud new owner of a BMW... a BMW motorcycle that is.
I've finally got around to buying the bike that I hope some day in the not too distant future, will carry me around the world.
It's big, it's black and it's beautiful.
Within the first 3 days, I'd almost racked up 1000km's on the clock. (for a funny story, check out Virginia's blog here) This machine is amazing. How could the Germans be SO far in advance of all other manufactures? They just seem to know how to get things right.
So for those interested, the stats:
It also has the added options of heated handgrips, electronics plug, raised windscreen, ABS brakes (with an on/off switch for off-road riding) and front fork fenders.
This is my new baby!
I have finally done it! I am now the proud new owner of a BMW... a BMW motorcycle that is.
I've finally got around to buying the bike that I hope some day in the not too distant future, will carry me around the world.
It's big, it's black and it's beautiful.
Within the first 3 days, I'd almost racked up 1000km's on the clock. (for a funny story, check out Virginia's blog here) This machine is amazing. How could the Germans be SO far in advance of all other manufactures? They just seem to know how to get things right.
So for those interested, the stats:
| Engine Type | Single Cylinder, Water Cooled, Four-Stroke, DOHC, 4 valves | |
|---|---|---|
| Displacement | 652 cc | |
| Fuel capacity | 4.0 U.S. gallons / 15 L | |
| Seat height | 78.5 cm | |
| Dry weight | (excluding options & accessories) 176 kg | |
| Wet weight | (excluding options & accessories) 192 kg | |
| Tires | Front: 19 in. Rear: 17 in | |
| Brakes | Front: 1 disc, 2 piston caliper; Rear: 1 disc, 1 piston caliper; | |
| Final drive | 520 O-Ring Chain |
It also has the added options of heated handgrips, electronics plug, raised windscreen, ABS brakes (with an on/off switch for off-road riding) and front fork fenders.
This is my new baby!
Oz Vacation.
"I come from a land down under,
Where women glow and men plunder,
Can't you hear, Can't you hear the thunder?
You'd better run, You'd better take cover!"
Oh yeah, I went home baby! The sunshine, the beaches, the babes (and the friends and family)!!!
This may sound a bit weird, but I sometimes forget how much I love my country. Thankfully I get reminded every so often.
Ok, so mid December, and I'm on a (free) flight back to Oz. At first, I didn't really feel much like going home. I'd only been away 9 months! But then as the time approaced, I was getting excited.
After some hastles with getting my ticket, I was finally booked on a flight. A little worrying was the fact that it went via Japan. As some of you may or may not know, Japan and I have a little history and I may not get such a friendly welcoming if I go back there. But all's well, as I only transfered in the airport and didn't have to go through customs.
So I left Korea and the snow to arrive back in Oz to a beautiful 30 degrees C. I love it!
I was planning to cut down on the drinking when I got back home, but alas, the first night back, they decide to have a cocktail party. So much for the no drinking. Thanks Joe!
For the first week or so, I hung out with the family and caught up with the happenings of big town Kingaroy (my home town). Then I headed back to Brisbane and spent a few days catching up with friends. It was wonderful to see everyone again. I just wish my friends weren't spread over so much of Australia... makes it very difficult to see everyone.
After this the real fun began. I went back home for a day, packed up some camping gear and stole Dad's 4WD for a week of fun and camping in the most beautiful place in the world.... Fraser Island.
I had 3 Canadian friends come over from Korea during the break and so we decided to meet up and go camping on Fraser. I met Nancy, Christa, Brent & Brent's friend Bret in the nice little town of Rainbow Beach.
The crew
We spent a fun night at the backpackers catching up on each of our Oz adventures, then got up early the next day and headed over to Fraser.
A bit about the Island. It is the largest sand island in the world. 120Km's long and 28km's wide (at it's widest point) it has lots of room for some fun sand 4X4ing. The main road (and airport) on the island is the beach, stretching 70 miles without a break.
Main highway
None of the other roads (except for about 3kms around the resorts) are paved. There are only three rocks on the whole island... the three that started creating the island billions of years ago. These are Indian Head, Middle Rocks and Waddy Point. The island has the most diverse flora in such a small area compared to anywhere else in Australia (some say the world) and it ranges from barren sand dunes, to open forrest, to rainforrest. It has the most pure dingo's (Native wild dogs)
Dingo... "no babies to eat here"
Originally uploaded by knowledgepimp
in Australia and some of the best fishing... also a high number of sharks! In my oppinion, it is the most beautiful place on earth.
So the first day we spent some time driving up the coast and trying to find a camping spot. At last we found a beautiful little spot and set up our tents. After this, a quick trip up to Eli Creek to fill the water bottles and have a quick paddle in the fresh water, then on to the Maheno ship wreck.
Maheno now.
This is a ship that was built in 1904 as a luxury cruise liner. It was used in WWI as a hospital ship and finially sold to the Japanese in 1935 to be scrapped. On it's way to Japan it was caught in a storm and washed up on the beach. Then durring WWII she was used for bombing practice by the Australian Air Force. Fortunately these guys weren't so good back then and only scored two direct hits after many runs.
The poor ship has had a hard life.
After this it was a quick run up to look at the Cathedral Coloured Sands (or Pinicles)
Nice colours
and it was back to camp for dinner.
The next day was even more adventurous. We jumped back in the 4WD and headed inland. The inland tracks are usually soft and bumpy, but I'd never seen them as bad as this. No rain for so long has left them extremely soft and difficult to navigate. This and the fact that my fathers new 4WD is turbo charged and takes a very different style of driving when in these conditions, meant that I had a difficult (but fun) time getting around.
First we went to Lake Wabby. This is a smaller lake that is slowly being swallowed up by a massive sand-dune. Thankfully this will probably take hundreds (hopefully many hundreds) of years and for now, means that it is a very fun place to go swimming as you can run full pelt down the dune & into the water. Lotsa fun!
My friends were very impressed with the colour of the water. Apparently none of them had ever seen (clean) water that green before.
After this we headed over to Lake McKenzie. On the way, I was driving in between some backpackers who had rented 4WD's to drive around the island. The backpacers organise these tours and they cram up to 11 people into one 4WD! To get some idea of how this would feel, think about sitting on a narrow bench, shoulder to shoulder with the person next to you. Then put a second bench across from you so that you are knocking knees with the person sitting across from you. Add backpacks for 11 people, put a low roof on top and lock you all in. Then drive on some of the roughest roads in the world with in-experienced drivers, often breathing in deisel fumes from the car in front of you (or often your own car). Not the best reciepy for a fun holiday.
As I was driving along, I looked in the rear-view mirror to see one of these vehicles hit a hole so hard that its front wheels went almost verticaly in the air. I am not exagerating. I saw the full underbody of the vehicle! Exhaust, suspension, engine sump & diff! It bounced twice when it landed. Amazing!
So finally after bouncing our way along these roads, we made it to Lake McKenzie. This is a perch lake, which means it is basically a bowl shap in the ground, where leaf matter has built up over thousands of years and hardened enough to become waterproof... then this bowl fills with water and you have a lake. This doesn't sound too appealing. It brings to mind some sort of slushy bottomed swampy, stagnant waterhole. This couldn't be further from the truth. It is surrounded by a white sand shore and is crystal clear down to a depth that I couldn't reach with one breath. The water reflects the colour of the sky, so that on a sunny, blue-sky day, you feel you are looking into the largest saphire in the world.
Lake Mcenkie
Originally uploaded by Brent Poole
In my mind it truely is the most beautiful place in the world.
From here, we headed back out to the beach via Central Station, the old forrestry station that was used when Fraser was logged.
Next day it was on to Indian Head & the Champeign Rocks. As mentioned before, Indian Head is one of the founding rocks of this island. It is a large headland that has a nice sloping back and ends in a cliff over looking the sea. This is the first time I have ever climbed up to the top of Indian Head, and it made me wonder why I didn't do it many years before.
"Shark infested waters"
When we first arrived on Fraser, I'd mentioned to my friends that the waters were suppose to be "shark infested" but in all the years I'd been coming there, I'd never seen one. Well, this was about to change. As I was climbing up, I looked down into the crystal clear surf and saw a dark shape cruising through the water. It was massive! Here was a shark gliding through water that would only have come up to my chest. I'd swum much deeper in these waters before.
It seemed a bit strange to me as on the way up the other side of the rock, I'd seen some dolphins surfing in the waves. I'd heard that if there were dolphins in the area, you could be sure there would be no sharks, as dolphins are the only animals that will attack a shark. I decided it must be that they were on either side of this headland & thus far enough away from each other to not be bothered.
So I finally reached the top and looked down into the waters. It was teaming with fish. A massive school of them. I'm not sure what kind they were, but swiming in amongs them were larger fish trying to catch their daily quota of breakfast, lunch and dinner... all in one go it seemed. Then in cruised the Shark. He was just one of three I saw while I was there (about an hour in total). But what really surprised me was when the dolphin came in and started playing in circles around the shark and catching it's own lunch. Here were two animals that I'd always thought of as mortal enimies, swimming around each other quite peacefully. In fact, as though the other didn't exist at all. Then in comes the turtle. A loggerhead turtle comes cruising by, probably also catching some lunch. I couldn't believe my eyes. Below me, in a circle of about 100m's was a Grey Nurse shark, a dolphin, two types of large fish and a loggerhead turtle! Where else on earth can you see this? After the turtle went on his way, a stingray came cruising through. All we needed now was for a whale to turn up and we'd have all my favourite creatures of the sea in one place. Alas it wasn't to be. Maybe if I come back in whale-watching season I may have more luck.
After Indian head, I wanted to take my friends over to the Champeign rocks. Easier said than done. To get over there, you have to get through some of the softest sand on the whole island. Virtually every vehicle was getting bogged trying to get across. I saw some backpackers in a bit of distress (and a lot of deep sand) and decided to go help. I went and helped dig them out, so they could revers back and have another go at getting through. After giving the driver some advice, he just looked at me and said "do you want to drive?". I gave it a go, but didn't follow my own advice the first time, so got stuck again. But on a second attempt, made it through easily. And what was my advice I hear you asking? Easy, as it's a rental, "put it in first gear, low range four-wheel-drive, and rev the guts out of it." This along with a lower tyre pressure and these vehicles will go almost anywhere.
Unfortunately not so for my fathers 4WD. It is lower than most 4X4's on the island and so on two wheel tracks, where most other vehicles have a high enough clearance to avoid bottoming out, my fathers vehicle has to plow its way through like a bulldozer. I tried to get through using my own advice, but got bogged. Usually when you get bogged, it's fairly easy to reverse out, but the low ground clearance meant that the body of the car was just sitting on the sand. Impossible to get out. Luckily there was a 4WD club parked close by and they were more than happy to pull me out. It was obvious these guys had far more experience than I did in this situation, so I asked them for some advice. It was very similar to mine earlier on: "Lower your tyre pressure even more, but put it in mid-range four-wheel-drive, as this vehicle can't keep the momentum in low range." After doing this, the car virtually floated across the sand.
Lesson learned: never be affraid to get advice, even when you think you know how to do something.
So we made it to the Champeign rocks. These are a part of the Middle Rocks where they meet the water. They form pools that are perfect for swimming in as the rock is black and warms the water to a perfect temperature for swimming. They get their name, because when the tide is comming in, the pressure of the rising water forces air bubbles out of the sand and rocks, making the water look like champeign. A great little spot.
The Champaign Pools
Originally uploaded by Brent Poole.
So this was my Fraser Island experience. My friends asked me a few times, if I came from such a place as this, how could I possibly leave... I was starting to wonder the same thing myself.
The next few days I spent saying goodbye to my family and headed back down to Brisbane once again. I hired a BMW F650 Dakar motorcycle for two days and had a bit of last minute fun to end my vacation.
Great ride.
This is the motorcycle I wanted to buy when I got back to Korea. I thought this would be a good test to see if it is the right bike for me... Yes! Yes it is!
The first day I took it for a short ride over to my friends place, just to get use to riding on the road on a different type of bike. I use to own a road bike, so I had to get use to riding a different style of bike, but the amazing engineering of BMW made this very, very easy.
The next day was the real ride. Up over my favourite mountain, Mt Glorious. This is a motorcycle mecca. Every Sunday, people get on their bikes and head up the mountain, stop at a little cafe to admire everyone elses ride, then down the other side of the mountain, turn around and head back.
Lotsa money lined up here.
All up it's about 250km's of pure, lean right over, hard on the breaks, up and down the gears, twisties. So much fun.
What a great way to finish a holiday!!!
To see more photos, go to my flickr site here or Brents flickr page here (pages 7 & 8 have Fraser Island). Brent has more photos than me.
(Thanks to Brent & Brett for use of some of their photos)
"I come from a land down under,
Where women glow and men plunder,
Can't you hear, Can't you hear the thunder?
You'd better run, You'd better take cover!"
Oh yeah, I went home baby! The sunshine, the beaches, the babes (and the friends and family)!!!
This may sound a bit weird, but I sometimes forget how much I love my country. Thankfully I get reminded every so often.
Ok, so mid December, and I'm on a (free) flight back to Oz. At first, I didn't really feel much like going home. I'd only been away 9 months! But then as the time approaced, I was getting excited.
After some hastles with getting my ticket, I was finally booked on a flight. A little worrying was the fact that it went via Japan. As some of you may or may not know, Japan and I have a little history and I may not get such a friendly welcoming if I go back there. But all's well, as I only transfered in the airport and didn't have to go through customs.
So I left Korea and the snow to arrive back in Oz to a beautiful 30 degrees C. I love it!
I was planning to cut down on the drinking when I got back home, but alas, the first night back, they decide to have a cocktail party. So much for the no drinking. Thanks Joe!
For the first week or so, I hung out with the family and caught up with the happenings of big town Kingaroy (my home town). Then I headed back to Brisbane and spent a few days catching up with friends. It was wonderful to see everyone again. I just wish my friends weren't spread over so much of Australia... makes it very difficult to see everyone.
After this the real fun began. I went back home for a day, packed up some camping gear and stole Dad's 4WD for a week of fun and camping in the most beautiful place in the world.... Fraser Island.
I had 3 Canadian friends come over from Korea during the break and so we decided to meet up and go camping on Fraser. I met Nancy, Christa, Brent & Brent's friend Bret in the nice little town of Rainbow Beach.
The crew
We spent a fun night at the backpackers catching up on each of our Oz adventures, then got up early the next day and headed over to Fraser.
A bit about the Island. It is the largest sand island in the world. 120Km's long and 28km's wide (at it's widest point) it has lots of room for some fun sand 4X4ing. The main road (and airport) on the island is the beach, stretching 70 miles without a break.
Main highway
None of the other roads (except for about 3kms around the resorts) are paved. There are only three rocks on the whole island... the three that started creating the island billions of years ago. These are Indian Head, Middle Rocks and Waddy Point. The island has the most diverse flora in such a small area compared to anywhere else in Australia (some say the world) and it ranges from barren sand dunes, to open forrest, to rainforrest. It has the most pure dingo's (Native wild dogs)
Dingo... "no babies to eat here"
Originally uploaded by knowledgepimp
in Australia and some of the best fishing... also a high number of sharks! In my oppinion, it is the most beautiful place on earth.
So the first day we spent some time driving up the coast and trying to find a camping spot. At last we found a beautiful little spot and set up our tents. After this, a quick trip up to Eli Creek to fill the water bottles and have a quick paddle in the fresh water, then on to the Maheno ship wreck.
Maheno now.
This is a ship that was built in 1904 as a luxury cruise liner. It was used in WWI as a hospital ship and finially sold to the Japanese in 1935 to be scrapped. On it's way to Japan it was caught in a storm and washed up on the beach. Then durring WWII she was used for bombing practice by the Australian Air Force. Fortunately these guys weren't so good back then and only scored two direct hits after many runs.
The poor ship has had a hard life.
After this it was a quick run up to look at the Cathedral Coloured Sands (or Pinicles)
Nice colours
and it was back to camp for dinner.
The next day was even more adventurous. We jumped back in the 4WD and headed inland. The inland tracks are usually soft and bumpy, but I'd never seen them as bad as this. No rain for so long has left them extremely soft and difficult to navigate. This and the fact that my fathers new 4WD is turbo charged and takes a very different style of driving when in these conditions, meant that I had a difficult (but fun) time getting around.
First we went to Lake Wabby. This is a smaller lake that is slowly being swallowed up by a massive sand-dune. Thankfully this will probably take hundreds (hopefully many hundreds) of years and for now, means that it is a very fun place to go swimming as you can run full pelt down the dune & into the water. Lotsa fun!
My friends were very impressed with the colour of the water. Apparently none of them had ever seen (clean) water that green before.
After this we headed over to Lake McKenzie. On the way, I was driving in between some backpackers who had rented 4WD's to drive around the island. The backpacers organise these tours and they cram up to 11 people into one 4WD! To get some idea of how this would feel, think about sitting on a narrow bench, shoulder to shoulder with the person next to you. Then put a second bench across from you so that you are knocking knees with the person sitting across from you. Add backpacks for 11 people, put a low roof on top and lock you all in. Then drive on some of the roughest roads in the world with in-experienced drivers, often breathing in deisel fumes from the car in front of you (or often your own car). Not the best reciepy for a fun holiday.
As I was driving along, I looked in the rear-view mirror to see one of these vehicles hit a hole so hard that its front wheels went almost verticaly in the air. I am not exagerating. I saw the full underbody of the vehicle! Exhaust, suspension, engine sump & diff! It bounced twice when it landed. Amazing!
So finally after bouncing our way along these roads, we made it to Lake McKenzie. This is a perch lake, which means it is basically a bowl shap in the ground, where leaf matter has built up over thousands of years and hardened enough to become waterproof... then this bowl fills with water and you have a lake. This doesn't sound too appealing. It brings to mind some sort of slushy bottomed swampy, stagnant waterhole. This couldn't be further from the truth. It is surrounded by a white sand shore and is crystal clear down to a depth that I couldn't reach with one breath. The water reflects the colour of the sky, so that on a sunny, blue-sky day, you feel you are looking into the largest saphire in the world.
Lake Mcenkie
Originally uploaded by Brent Poole
In my mind it truely is the most beautiful place in the world.
From here, we headed back out to the beach via Central Station, the old forrestry station that was used when Fraser was logged.
Next day it was on to Indian Head & the Champeign Rocks. As mentioned before, Indian Head is one of the founding rocks of this island. It is a large headland that has a nice sloping back and ends in a cliff over looking the sea. This is the first time I have ever climbed up to the top of Indian Head, and it made me wonder why I didn't do it many years before.
"Shark infested waters"
When we first arrived on Fraser, I'd mentioned to my friends that the waters were suppose to be "shark infested" but in all the years I'd been coming there, I'd never seen one. Well, this was about to change. As I was climbing up, I looked down into the crystal clear surf and saw a dark shape cruising through the water. It was massive! Here was a shark gliding through water that would only have come up to my chest. I'd swum much deeper in these waters before.
It seemed a bit strange to me as on the way up the other side of the rock, I'd seen some dolphins surfing in the waves. I'd heard that if there were dolphins in the area, you could be sure there would be no sharks, as dolphins are the only animals that will attack a shark. I decided it must be that they were on either side of this headland & thus far enough away from each other to not be bothered.
So I finally reached the top and looked down into the waters. It was teaming with fish. A massive school of them. I'm not sure what kind they were, but swiming in amongs them were larger fish trying to catch their daily quota of breakfast, lunch and dinner... all in one go it seemed. Then in cruised the Shark. He was just one of three I saw while I was there (about an hour in total). But what really surprised me was when the dolphin came in and started playing in circles around the shark and catching it's own lunch. Here were two animals that I'd always thought of as mortal enimies, swimming around each other quite peacefully. In fact, as though the other didn't exist at all. Then in comes the turtle. A loggerhead turtle comes cruising by, probably also catching some lunch. I couldn't believe my eyes. Below me, in a circle of about 100m's was a Grey Nurse shark, a dolphin, two types of large fish and a loggerhead turtle! Where else on earth can you see this? After the turtle went on his way, a stingray came cruising through. All we needed now was for a whale to turn up and we'd have all my favourite creatures of the sea in one place. Alas it wasn't to be. Maybe if I come back in whale-watching season I may have more luck.
After Indian head, I wanted to take my friends over to the Champeign rocks. Easier said than done. To get over there, you have to get through some of the softest sand on the whole island. Virtually every vehicle was getting bogged trying to get across. I saw some backpackers in a bit of distress (and a lot of deep sand) and decided to go help. I went and helped dig them out, so they could revers back and have another go at getting through. After giving the driver some advice, he just looked at me and said "do you want to drive?". I gave it a go, but didn't follow my own advice the first time, so got stuck again. But on a second attempt, made it through easily. And what was my advice I hear you asking? Easy, as it's a rental, "put it in first gear, low range four-wheel-drive, and rev the guts out of it." This along with a lower tyre pressure and these vehicles will go almost anywhere.
Unfortunately not so for my fathers 4WD. It is lower than most 4X4's on the island and so on two wheel tracks, where most other vehicles have a high enough clearance to avoid bottoming out, my fathers vehicle has to plow its way through like a bulldozer. I tried to get through using my own advice, but got bogged. Usually when you get bogged, it's fairly easy to reverse out, but the low ground clearance meant that the body of the car was just sitting on the sand. Impossible to get out. Luckily there was a 4WD club parked close by and they were more than happy to pull me out. It was obvious these guys had far more experience than I did in this situation, so I asked them for some advice. It was very similar to mine earlier on: "Lower your tyre pressure even more, but put it in mid-range four-wheel-drive, as this vehicle can't keep the momentum in low range." After doing this, the car virtually floated across the sand.
Lesson learned: never be affraid to get advice, even when you think you know how to do something.
So we made it to the Champeign rocks. These are a part of the Middle Rocks where they meet the water. They form pools that are perfect for swimming in as the rock is black and warms the water to a perfect temperature for swimming. They get their name, because when the tide is comming in, the pressure of the rising water forces air bubbles out of the sand and rocks, making the water look like champeign. A great little spot.
The Champaign Pools
Originally uploaded by Brent Poole.
So this was my Fraser Island experience. My friends asked me a few times, if I came from such a place as this, how could I possibly leave... I was starting to wonder the same thing myself.
The next few days I spent saying goodbye to my family and headed back down to Brisbane once again. I hired a BMW F650 Dakar motorcycle for two days and had a bit of last minute fun to end my vacation.
Great ride.
This is the motorcycle I wanted to buy when I got back to Korea. I thought this would be a good test to see if it is the right bike for me... Yes! Yes it is!
The first day I took it for a short ride over to my friends place, just to get use to riding on the road on a different type of bike. I use to own a road bike, so I had to get use to riding a different style of bike, but the amazing engineering of BMW made this very, very easy.
The next day was the real ride. Up over my favourite mountain, Mt Glorious. This is a motorcycle mecca. Every Sunday, people get on their bikes and head up the mountain, stop at a little cafe to admire everyone elses ride, then down the other side of the mountain, turn around and head back.
Lotsa money lined up here.
All up it's about 250km's of pure, lean right over, hard on the breaks, up and down the gears, twisties. So much fun.
What a great way to finish a holiday!!!
To see more photos, go to my flickr site here or Brents flickr page here (pages 7 & 8 have Fraser Island). Brent has more photos than me.
(Thanks to Brent & Brett for use of some of their photos)
Friday, March 02, 2007
Catch up
Ok, so I've been slack... I know it.
So here's the lowdown of the last few months...
Christmas:
I had a great Christmas this year, spending time with friends in a small town called Gangjin. There was lots of food (including one of the largest turkys I've ever seen) and drinks. We did the (not so) secret santa thing and I got some nice pressies. A very relaxing and fun time.
New Year:
Again, new year was spent with friends, this time in Suncheon. We had a cocktail party at Steven's apt, then went in to Juliannas late that night. New Year countdown was spent on the roof dancing and singing and setting off sparklers till the security guard came and kicked us out. Lotsa fun.
My Birthday (6th Jan):
I went out with some friends to the Outback Steakhouse and had a great meal. Then we went on to a night club in Gwangju.
Now I should mention here that Korea makes a distinction between a "club" and a "night club". The typical idea we have of a bar with a DJ and dance music is called a club here in Korea. On the other hand, a night club is this and a whole lot more.
We were led into this huge building which looked something like a grand theatre except the bottom floor was much larger and had lots of tables and a dance floor. There were 3 "balcony" sections with more tables and chairs. We were on the second balcony looking over the whole scene below us.
Up on the stage, there were male strippers dancing as we entered. I was assured there were female strippers as well, but it seems we arrived too late for them. Now don't get to excited here... a strip show seems to consist of a guy doing weird movements which I presume are meant to be sexy and erotic, but which reminded me of some sort of uncoordinated spasm. In a final flourish, the guy would rip off his baggy pants (reminicient of 1980's style "Hammar pants") to be left standing in his g-string... then immediately bolting, as fast as his bandy little legs would carry him, for back stage.
After this bit of amusement, a hanging stage swung down from the ceiling and a girl pop band started playing. At least at first I thought they were playing... then I realised, none of them actually knew how to play an instrument. I don't mean the music was bad... I mean, they were pretending!. The singing was real enough, but all the instruments were just props.
The same thing for the boy band that appeared from under the stage floor a while later.
But the most entertaining thing for the night was a custom known as "booking".
This is where a "host / waiter" is asked to go and get a girl. He / she then goes off to any table in the area, grabs a girls arm and literally drags her back to the table, where she has the choice of remaining to talk to the bookie (usually drunk middleaged businessmen) or bolting back to the refuge of her own table.
I was quite amused, upon returning to our table after dancing, to find out that one of my korean friends, EJ, had been dragged off to another table. What was more amusing was the fact that she stayed there for half an hour... much to the cargrin of her boyfriend.
I have to say a big thanks to Riann for this night. He paid for all of us and spent a not so small fortune for such a great night out.
Ok, so I've been slack... I know it.
So here's the lowdown of the last few months...
Christmas:
I had a great Christmas this year, spending time with friends in a small town called Gangjin. There was lots of food (including one of the largest turkys I've ever seen) and drinks. We did the (not so) secret santa thing and I got some nice pressies. A very relaxing and fun time.
New Year:
Again, new year was spent with friends, this time in Suncheon. We had a cocktail party at Steven's apt, then went in to Juliannas late that night. New Year countdown was spent on the roof dancing and singing and setting off sparklers till the security guard came and kicked us out. Lotsa fun.
My Birthday (6th Jan):
I went out with some friends to the Outback Steakhouse and had a great meal. Then we went on to a night club in Gwangju.
Now I should mention here that Korea makes a distinction between a "club" and a "night club". The typical idea we have of a bar with a DJ and dance music is called a club here in Korea. On the other hand, a night club is this and a whole lot more.
We were led into this huge building which looked something like a grand theatre except the bottom floor was much larger and had lots of tables and a dance floor. There were 3 "balcony" sections with more tables and chairs. We were on the second balcony looking over the whole scene below us.
Up on the stage, there were male strippers dancing as we entered. I was assured there were female strippers as well, but it seems we arrived too late for them. Now don't get to excited here... a strip show seems to consist of a guy doing weird movements which I presume are meant to be sexy and erotic, but which reminded me of some sort of uncoordinated spasm. In a final flourish, the guy would rip off his baggy pants (reminicient of 1980's style "Hammar pants") to be left standing in his g-string... then immediately bolting, as fast as his bandy little legs would carry him, for back stage.
After this bit of amusement, a hanging stage swung down from the ceiling and a girl pop band started playing. At least at first I thought they were playing... then I realised, none of them actually knew how to play an instrument. I don't mean the music was bad... I mean, they were pretending!. The singing was real enough, but all the instruments were just props.
The same thing for the boy band that appeared from under the stage floor a while later.
But the most entertaining thing for the night was a custom known as "booking".
This is where a "host / waiter" is asked to go and get a girl. He / she then goes off to any table in the area, grabs a girls arm and literally drags her back to the table, where she has the choice of remaining to talk to the bookie (usually drunk middleaged businessmen) or bolting back to the refuge of her own table.
I was quite amused, upon returning to our table after dancing, to find out that one of my korean friends, EJ, had been dragged off to another table. What was more amusing was the fact that she stayed there for half an hour... much to the cargrin of her boyfriend.
I have to say a big thanks to Riann for this night. He paid for all of us and spent a not so small fortune for such a great night out.
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