5/10/2002 BUSAN ASIAN GAMES: RACES 1-3 Races hv been underway here in Busan & race 3 has just been completed today. Yesterday wind was good, from 15-20+ kts (gust) & there were some surprises. I dunno where to start reporting the results. To begin with, Andrew has been very consistent in all 3 races, coming in 6th, aha...he beat Taipei old man (7th) to retain his 6th psn. In his class, Mistral lightweight, psns change in every race. Today, 0 kt in morn & we waited several hrs b4 it blew ard 8-12 kts in super gloomy weather. CHN 1ST, HKG 2ND, KOR 3RD, JPN4TH, THA 5TH, SIN 6TH. Mistral Heavyweight: INA 1ST, CHN 2ND, JPN 3RD, HKG 4TH, THA 5TH. Yesterday, results were different. We saw the CHN lady Yin Jian doing badly, being 5th overall after 2 races. Dunno what happened to her, whilst Tha gal was 3rd. HKG San san won both races, Masako sits 2nd. Meng, Cho doesn't look like he's gonna win, with mostly 4th & 5th places. HKG ho chi ho is fighting hard with CHN Zhou Yuanguo & finally today, Gao Chuanwei in Raceboard LW! , came in 1st after patching his board till 9 p.m. last night. Everybody raced in epoxy-patched raceboards. Received bad feedback for its fragility in such rough conditions. I had smuggled myself into the Press boat these 2 days, after disguising myself as a Photographer & Journalist. The boat brought us right next to the pin end buoy of the start line. I'll send out some good photos when they r ready.

10/2/2002 WEDNESDAY TYPHOON in Osaka & Long-waiting game! More shopping, there were nothing much coz there were only sweaters & more sweaters. really, it wasn't that cold. and i'm frustrated from always having to put up with stuffy-non-air-conditioned buses coz they think it's cold out there. gosh, i'd rather be cold than hot. that reminds me of the 40min bus ride to the airport this morning. i didn't sleep well coz i was too excited abt today. aha...firstly, I walked 15 min thru' underpasses, streets & lots and lots of staircases to the bus-stop. The airport bus 68 came, i was greeted by this grouchy old man who grunts & scolds. i got thru' the paying-bus-fare part, then chose a seat 3 rows behind him. realising the air-con wasnt on, i asked him to switch it on. oh there started the ranting and raving...he's probably scolding me in his native korean vulgar language. he switched it on and after half a min, switched it off again. Oh ok, so this means 'switching on the air-con'. I stopped requesting for the air-con obviously. i continued the near-fainting journey, half in fear if indeed, this bus goes to Gimpo airport. You know, u feel more uncertain when you have a very un-assuring driver. I really almost fainted in the stuffy bus, feeling really hungry and still in a sleepy stupor, I struggled to stay perky. Well, I did reach the Gimpo Airport, Praise God! I quickly checked in and on my way to STARBUCKS, bumped into 3 girls who were screaming & struggling with each other for some reason. Finally, the police was called in to maintain sanity at the Departure Lounge. Then I joyfully ordered a Grande Cappucino with lots of Choc & some cinnamon in it. Nothing beats a nice big cuppa in the morning with the newspapers & a sandwich. It was time to check in and I took the Airport Limousine bus to the Domestic Departure Hall. I found my seat beside this ang-moh guy who looked like he was busy doing homework. aha...I read more newspapers & soon, we reached Busan Domestic airport in an hr. It's the Airport Limousine bus again to the Intl airport. There i had my best surprise of the day. Yasuko's flight is to be delayed for 4 hrs! Praise the Lord! It's a cruel, long & starving waiting game. I cant leave because I do not know which hotel she has booked. Anyway, I am really looking forward to meeting the windsurfers and sailors, incl the officials, coaches & jury from the rest of the world. It'll be an awesome gathering.

30/9/2002 CRAPPY CAPPUCINO Greetings from Seoul! The first thing that happened to me was to get conned of a cuppa lousy cappucino. this is my second time & i hv not learned my lesson!! darn! Koreans make lousy coffee, period! For the same price, i could have lingered happily in Starbucks, Coffee Beans or Seattle's. Anyway, i attempted the Jungang Flea Market after my Dunkin Donuts breakfast in the subway...it's not a Flea market, as u would think, it's really a wet market, Korean-style. And I saw, *gasp*, dogs in cages, whining & next to the bunch of caged dogs, as if to remind them of their impending doom, were displays of frozen dog legs, RAW! How poignant! I almost dropped my camera...the scene seizes me like hyperventilation as i struggled to relate DOGS to Makan! I tried to take pictures but the owner waved me off, i pointed to the dogs & the man continued to disallow pictures. I didn't persist, in case i had to keep the dogs company in the cage. But i took one photo of the dogs in the opposite ! stall. I walked around more, but certainly, lunch was not on my mind. i went back to Downtown seoul when the raw smell got into me. i'm impressed at the rate of improvemt, there r street concerts here everynight. their arts & ways of expression for youths r amazing. juz last night, i stood frozen to the ground watching bunches of teens dancing on the permanent stage. it was awesome as it's not juz swaying but some of the boys were breakdancing & flipping & somersaulting perfectly to the rhythm. I do understand how local sports, arts, dance & theatre r really not happening. I visited the local bookstore today...and there were books of the individual footballers. Not to say that their ads adorn the streets, mags, everything! Then i went to Korean Air to confirm my air tix & to mark that bus-stop which the airport express bus would move from on my map. Till I fly to Busan to check out the Asian Games, i'm juz hanging around, watching lots of tv. Theyhad the Opening ceremony last night & as usual, i only saw the Koreans coz that's all they showed. The only reason y i'll come back kor is the snow skiing. YUP!!!

29/9/2002 So Seoul only... I did some more touristy things these 2 days & boy, it's a lot a lot of walking...practically hours. Yesterday, I took the subway (basically, i take the subway to EVERYWHERE coz it's sooo cheap! tho' not the easiest to figure out but a hundred times easier than Tokyo's) to Gyeungbokkung Palace & Independence Gate. The palace was not impressive, looked rather fake as it was purposely built as a university project & it's nothing compared to the Vietnamese & Chinese palaces which were really really awesome. I digressed to the Korean Folk Museum...and guess who was up in Korea's history? Yes, the Korean World Cup & the Kor football team! It was quite an awesome sight. A bunch of boys kicking balls in the historical annals of the country. It speaks a lot abt what the country thinks abt sport amongst its priorities. Then I took the subway to the Sodaemun History Prison Hall. I think the Korean War is either not as horrendous as the other wars or that the museum architects are not up to it. aha. It was ok lah, ended up taking photos of myself using the timer. Hope they turn out. Late afternoon, I took the subway to the reputed shopping belt called Itaewon! Well, there're too many tourists there, too many blacks, ang-mohs and ang-moh fast-food. Then there are consistent bunches of Harley-bikes vrrooming up the 'happening' street so often I don't find them unique anymore. My hunger resisted & I ended up at Steff's Hotdog for dinner. And I bought 4 more World Cup t-shirts in addition to the 2 I already bought. Exhausting the 2 streets, I returned back to my motel in the big pouring cold cruel rain!!! The raindrops here seem much bigger than those back home, and at least 10 deg colder! It was Sat night, so there were nice movies to watch on tv. there was this show starring Eddie Murphy, pretty funny...and those asian games highlights here & there often. But in Korea, u juz tend to think Kor is winning in every sport & in every competition coz that's all they show. I've bought the Korea Herald sometimes but still, Kor wins everything. aha. This morning I woke up really excited because I was going to reward myself with a hot Cuppa Cappucino & choc muffin at Coffee Beans. Then I'll head for the biggest church i.e. Yoida Full Gospel Church, in the world, right here in Seoul. It's headed by Rev David Cho Yonggi. Hmmm, it's really big!! Everything but the seats are big. The cross must have been 50 ft high....and I understood only 'Hallelujah' & 'Amen' in the entire worship & sermon. Yup, it was in traditional korean. I spent my time taking photos of the congregation, the church building & occasionlly flipping thru' my Korean Phrasebook. No chance to explore other parts of the building as the human throng is simply too powerful. There were tons of traffic police directing the human & traffic, obviously i forgot to mention the traffic jam as i was reaching there b4 the service. I proceeded with my itinery which was to head for the Han-Gang river cruise which was supposed to take me to this windsurfing area. I had an hr plus to kill b4 the ferry sets off. Ate lunch out of a Snack Car (a mini-bus) and waited...watched the children feed the pigeons & chasing them... The ferry was kinda of a disappointment. There was this rowdy grp of people who were taking photos during the entire trip & i was forced to abdicate my seat to somewhere photo-taking-free. There was no wind...so the windsurfing was quite a sad scene. Then i walked an hour to the Chamsil subway...half an hr later, back in Myongdong. Next 2 days, I planned it to be relaxing...finish last-min shopping, check out the Hwang-hak Flea Market & come back. Tues, I'll just hang out at my shopping area, shop somemore & pack up. Wed early morn, I'll hv to take the 10am domestic flight to meet Yasuko. I really dunno what to eat for dinner...aha. and it's real crowded outside.

27/9/2002 SEOUL SOUL! Greetings from Seoul. The Asian Association for Sportt Management Congress was a big surprise! right fm beginning, every day was a surprise. u know nobody picked us up from the airport? ya, we waited 2 hrs & finally, called up the hotel, nobody made a reservation for us & we ended up taking an hr public bus to the Olympic Parktel hotel. WELCOME TO SEOUL! of coz, more surprises to come. on second day, they packed us off to Busan for this Scientific Congress which we didn't know we were attending. aha. then they left us there to return to Seoul on our own. Addy didn't want to make himself more confused and so, remained in Busan. I found my way to the Railway station with a Jap friend & took too-too-train for 4-half hrs back to Seoul. My cheapskate motel is ok lah..juz lock everything tight lor. but i suppose anyone can give a slight kick & the door will fall. i slept well in the motel after all & felt used to it aft one night. aha. it's ok coz location's best!! Yes, now i found out many nice places to go...i've planned my itinery & am very happy! i'm juz opp to this really happening shopping area which i only found out tis aftn. i ventured there for lunch & didnt expect it to be so happening as it looked boring fm the street. aha. was i wrong. anyway, last night aft i got outta internet shop, i cont shoppin in that Namdaemon street market. i was trying to buy a good & cheap leather jacket. in my 2nd shop, this guy was really nice & striked up conversation. it was the same one that really fit me & really good leather (cannot burn when u light a fire on it & very smooth). in the first shop, it cost s$325. in tis second shop, i asked for leather that cost ard s$100 (actually not that possible coz it's ex right). dun hv...so i walked out. then that guy called me back & offered me s$125 for that same long black italian leather jack. i tried it again & ok, bot it. i'm not leather expert lah but it's the best price i came across, even in china or aus, usu at least s$200. juz now i walked into giordano & their leather jac is also going for s$300+. i think i got a good deal lah. also bot a nice brown denim 'jeans' for s$57. the cutting is good on me, coz all my life i can never buy a pair of 'jeans' or pants that look nice on me, aha. so i bot it. looks fantastic wif the leather. anyway, aft my kfc lunch (yes, sick of kor food!) at the shopping area opp my motel, i followed my itinery plan i.e. Namsan National park & Seoul Tower & Namsan traditional korean village. it was juz to the right of my motel. it required a steep one-hr plus walk up to the peak. despite the 27deg ok weather, i was perspiring lor...and it wasn't breathtaking! aha, i asked this man to take photo for me. then i sat there to rest my legs while looking upon the bunches of 5-yr-olds running & screaming. it seems that the kids hv lots of excursions, coz i see them everywhere i go. but they r so cute. then i bot the tix to bring me up to Seoul Tower. well, i was disappointed the elevator only brought me up to one-third of the tower, which my Timex watch measured only 235m altitude. the peak is supposed to be 456m in altitude. sigh. 'up there', it wasnt fantastic too. aha. Tokyo Tower, i remembered, is 100x more breathtaking. well, i should hv been there at night. but then again, no way am i gonna climb 1 hr plus up the steep stairs in pitch darkness. i forgot there's a cablecar to bring us to the tower directly. but...i trust the car, not the cable. i'd rather walk. then i went to the tourist info counter, chatted a while & got them to help me change my Busan flight. done. went on to the Namsan Traditional Korean village which was 45 min walk away. i found it after a little bit of getting-lost here & there. reached there in 1 hr. well, it really wasn't fantastic. some koreans were filming there & the actor, who was decked in a beard & traditional costume, pointed to my oa! kley & gave his thumbs-up. aha. definitely, in this hot weather! aha. Tonight i'll check out in entirety this shopping area opp my motel. it's quite happening. Bought a pair of Polo socks for s$1+ coz last night i was desperately trying to dry my only pair of socks with the aircon. lesson learned. tomorrow i'll check out the ChangYonggung Palace up North fm my motel. There's supposed to be a series of shows there the whole day, incl those Changing-Guards thingy. aha. Then if i hv time in the day, will travel South to the War Memorial Museum. In evening, go to the famous shopping belt called Itae-Won. Sunday will be church-day. aha...the World's biggest church is here in Seoul and that's Yoida Full Gospel Church at Yoida. After service, I'll take a boat cruise (called the Hangang River Cruise, an hr) from Yoida to Ttuksom where there's supposed to be a Windsurfing area. I hope to windsurf a couple of hrs there. Monday will be more historical & educational stuff again...check out the Sodaemun Prison, Independence Park etc. Comparing Japan with Korea, i like japan many times more. the culture is richer & more happening. the people are more bold, entrepreunerial & charismatic. ya, i'll finally meet yasuko, my jap friend, at busan airport after a series of non-communication. i wont get a phone here after all. think there's no need. internet shops r everywhere. Finally, at the Korean Traditional Village phone booth, i managed to get my korean windsurfer friend on his handphone. i learnt from the girl at the Tourist Info booth that i need to add a 0 in front of all mobile no. cheh...no wonder. And i called my bf ker Wan & he was Shanghai airport, squeezing his way to check-in half an hr b4 the plane was flying off. ha, that's the typical China-adventure there...here's not as bad. I told him to spit to claim his territory & be more aggressive in jumping queue. hopefully he's in the plane now. aha.