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Thursday, February 21, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Cambodia!
Cambodia had been on my bucket list for the past few years because I had seen a lot of great pictures of Angkor Wat and I thought it would be really cool to explore these temples - I was right! It was a great stop on our vacation...we absolutely loved our time in Cambodia!
We arrived in the evening into the Siem Reap airport and were picked up by a driver from our hotel - the hotel** that I booked for us was outside of the main city area within one of the villages. We drove through many back roads to get there and I really got the feel that this was a third world country - there were a lot of small houses/huts and little businesses being run out of the front of their home. We pulled up to our hotel and fell in love with it immediately. It had gorgeous grounds, including a great pool and they hire and train people from the local village which we thought was really cool. The people there were the friendliest people that I have ever met in my life. The hotel was also very environmentally conscious, which we loved; they used renewable materials, locally sourced food, and solar panels to make the hot water. We grabbed an absolutely delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant and called it an early night.
We had asked the front desk to have a Tuk-Tuk ready for us first thing in the morning to take us to the main temple areas. This tuk-tuk was great - it was so nice to be out in the open air and he got us everywhere pretty quickly. Before we could go anywhere, we needed to go to the ATM to get some money and we were surprised when US dollar bills came out - this is what they use as their currency...in fact, most places couldn't even give us any of the Cambodian Riels because they didn't have any.
The first stop of the day was Angkor Wat which was awesome! The best part about all of the temples is that you can climb all over all of them - it really makes you feel like Indiana Jones which is so much fun!
We saw quite a few monkeys hanging around...many of them finding left over fruits or soda and chowing down - they're hard to catch in pictures but we got a couple fun shots!
We also grabbed coconuts which are one of the most refreshing and delicious things I've ever had...we had a lot of these in Thailand and they were just as good in Cambodia. They taste much better than the coconuts in North America...something about Southeast Asia really makes them fantastic! The people selling them literally just cut the top off of the coconut and put a straw in so it is super fresh...and super delicious.
After that, our driver took us to Ta Prohm which is the temple where all of the roots of the trees are growing within the temple walls...it's just awesome! It's also where the movie "Tomb Raider" with Angelina Jolie was filmed so you may recognize it from there. It's exactly like the "lost temples" you imagine in the middle of the jungle, just not lost.
He then took us to lunch and then over to Bayon Temple which was our favorite of the day. It has a Buddha face on the North, South, East, and West side of each column. It was really great! We tried to talk to the Buddha faces, but they don't talk back like in "Legends of the Hidden Temple"...shucks.
The temples attract not only tourists but also Buddhist monks. It was really neat to see so many of them in their bright orange robes out walking around. I love this picture I got of one of them walking out of the temple!
We walked around the Angkor Thom area a little more and decided to call it a day as the storm clouds really started to roll in - it had a busy and fun day full of exploring!
The next day was Thanksgiving and we wanted to do something special to make this a really memorable day! I arranged for a sunrise bike ride to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. We met our guide at 4:45 AM (VERY early especially for vacation but somehow we knew it would be worth it) and we began our bike ride. Since our hotel was out in the village area, we started riding through the back roads in the village in the pitch black night with only little flashlights on our bikes providing any light for us to see...very crazy! Ryan rode up next to me and said, "Did you ever think that we would be riding bikes in the dark through rural Cambodia??" and the answer was: "No...I definitely never thought that I would be doing this but I'm so happy to be having this experience together!" As we got onto the main roads, we saw lots of tourists in tuk-tuks and cars - they took the easy route but we were fully enjoying our morning exercise. :) We got there before the sunrise and realized quickly that the word about how cool this was had gotten out because there were quite a few tourists there. We found a spot to enjoy the view for a bit and as the sun started to peak over the temples, we headed down to the edge of the water to get some pictures of the reflection as well - it was absolutely breathtaking!
On the way back to our hotel, the local guide took us a different way home because he wanted to show us his village which was really nice. Everyone was waving at us and at one point, a group of kids started chasing after us yelling, "Hello! Hello!"It was a wonderful morning - probably one of my favorite travel memories of all time. As it was Thanksgiving, we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the warm weather (we knew that we would be coming back to cold weather in Korea). We had a great dinner just the two of us and ended our first Thanksgiving abroad. :)
The third day, we decided to take a trek out to some of the temples that were further away. The first one that we went to was Banteay Srei which is a red sandstone temple and the carvings are very well preserved.
We also went to a few other temples in the area which were a lot less crowded.
On the ride there, we got a good look at what Cambodian life was really like. Our cab driver also told us a lot of stories about what it was like to grow up here in Cambodia...especially during the terrible times that they went through. It was really impressive how a country who has been through so much can be so kind to everyone and hopeful for a better future - they are so willing and eager to share their stories and anything that they have. It's one of those life lessons that you will never forget because it changes the way you look at your life.
On our final day, we got our last bit of rest and relaxation before we prepared to go back to Korea (which also means back to stressful and crazy work). At the hotel's spa, we had the greatest massage that we have ever had - it was a Khmer massage (Cambodian style...it was very similar to a Thai massage but not quite as intense)...it was awesome!
I also took a cooking class at our hotel which was absolutely awesome! One of the local villagers showed us their home - she showed us where they grow some of their veggies and then her kitchen where she makes food for her entire family every day.
Then they took us to an open air pavilion where kitchen stations were set up for us to make our own meals. We made fresh spring rolls (which I now make ALL the time and absolutely adore them - so does Ryan!), Cambodian Curry (we even made the curry paste from scratch which was phenomenal) and finally, Nom Tong Noun for dessert (it's kind of like a coconut cookie). All had the freshest ingredients and were absolutely to die for - I had a blast at the cooking class!
At the end of all, we had an absolutely magnificent trip and made some of the best memories ever! We will certainly never forget this trip and will hopefully be heading back this direction sometime in the future! :)
**If you want to stay at the same hotel as we did, it is called Sojourn Boutique Villa and we loved it!
We arrived in the evening into the Siem Reap airport and were picked up by a driver from our hotel - the hotel** that I booked for us was outside of the main city area within one of the villages. We drove through many back roads to get there and I really got the feel that this was a third world country - there were a lot of small houses/huts and little businesses being run out of the front of their home. We pulled up to our hotel and fell in love with it immediately. It had gorgeous grounds, including a great pool and they hire and train people from the local village which we thought was really cool. The people there were the friendliest people that I have ever met in my life. The hotel was also very environmentally conscious, which we loved; they used renewable materials, locally sourced food, and solar panels to make the hot water. We grabbed an absolutely delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant and called it an early night.
We had asked the front desk to have a Tuk-Tuk ready for us first thing in the morning to take us to the main temple areas. This tuk-tuk was great - it was so nice to be out in the open air and he got us everywhere pretty quickly. Before we could go anywhere, we needed to go to the ATM to get some money and we were surprised when US dollar bills came out - this is what they use as their currency...in fact, most places couldn't even give us any of the Cambodian Riels because they didn't have any.
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| The view on our Tuk-Tuk driving us all around Cambodia |
We saw quite a few monkeys hanging around...many of them finding left over fruits or soda and chowing down - they're hard to catch in pictures but we got a couple fun shots!
We also grabbed coconuts which are one of the most refreshing and delicious things I've ever had...we had a lot of these in Thailand and they were just as good in Cambodia. They taste much better than the coconuts in North America...something about Southeast Asia really makes them fantastic! The people selling them literally just cut the top off of the coconut and put a straw in so it is super fresh...and super delicious.
After that, our driver took us to Ta Prohm which is the temple where all of the roots of the trees are growing within the temple walls...it's just awesome! It's also where the movie "Tomb Raider" with Angelina Jolie was filmed so you may recognize it from there. It's exactly like the "lost temples" you imagine in the middle of the jungle, just not lost.
He then took us to lunch and then over to Bayon Temple which was our favorite of the day. It has a Buddha face on the North, South, East, and West side of each column. It was really great! We tried to talk to the Buddha faces, but they don't talk back like in "Legends of the Hidden Temple"...shucks.
The temples attract not only tourists but also Buddhist monks. It was really neat to see so many of them in their bright orange robes out walking around. I love this picture I got of one of them walking out of the temple!
We walked around the Angkor Thom area a little more and decided to call it a day as the storm clouds really started to roll in - it had a busy and fun day full of exploring!
The next day was Thanksgiving and we wanted to do something special to make this a really memorable day! I arranged for a sunrise bike ride to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. We met our guide at 4:45 AM (VERY early especially for vacation but somehow we knew it would be worth it) and we began our bike ride. Since our hotel was out in the village area, we started riding through the back roads in the village in the pitch black night with only little flashlights on our bikes providing any light for us to see...very crazy! Ryan rode up next to me and said, "Did you ever think that we would be riding bikes in the dark through rural Cambodia??" and the answer was: "No...I definitely never thought that I would be doing this but I'm so happy to be having this experience together!" As we got onto the main roads, we saw lots of tourists in tuk-tuks and cars - they took the easy route but we were fully enjoying our morning exercise. :) We got there before the sunrise and realized quickly that the word about how cool this was had gotten out because there were quite a few tourists there. We found a spot to enjoy the view for a bit and as the sun started to peak over the temples, we headed down to the edge of the water to get some pictures of the reflection as well - it was absolutely breathtaking!
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| The pool area where we spent the rest of our Thanksgiving day relaxing... |
We also went to a few other temples in the area which were a lot less crowded.
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| Banteay Samre |
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| This was one of our favorite pictures - in the distance is a local woman walking to the temple with her dog. |
On our final day, we got our last bit of rest and relaxation before we prepared to go back to Korea (which also means back to stressful and crazy work). At the hotel's spa, we had the greatest massage that we have ever had - it was a Khmer massage (Cambodian style...it was very similar to a Thai massage but not quite as intense)...it was awesome!
I also took a cooking class at our hotel which was absolutely awesome! One of the local villagers showed us their home - she showed us where they grow some of their veggies and then her kitchen where she makes food for her entire family every day.
Then they took us to an open air pavilion where kitchen stations were set up for us to make our own meals. We made fresh spring rolls (which I now make ALL the time and absolutely adore them - so does Ryan!), Cambodian Curry (we even made the curry paste from scratch which was phenomenal) and finally, Nom Tong Noun for dessert (it's kind of like a coconut cookie). All had the freshest ingredients and were absolutely to die for - I had a blast at the cooking class!
**If you want to stay at the same hotel as we did, it is called Sojourn Boutique Villa and we loved it!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Phuket, Thailand
Phuket! We had heard that it was paradise and we simply had to go! We spent the first afternoon going on a long run, relaxing by the pool, and then enjoying a nice dinner. The next day, we got up and spent the day at Kata Beach which is simply gorgeous. We took some fun pictures at night when the long boats came in to dock. :)
By the end of our beach day, we decided we wanted to try something exciting, so we booked ourselves a discovery scuba dive for the next day. This was going to be Ryan's first time diving and my second and we wanted to test it out to see if we wanted to get certified sometime in the future. So...we headed out to sea and stopped at a smaller island called, Rachai Yai which was stunningly beautiful. The water was emerald and there were great sea creatures all around!
We did our first dive and then went around to another side of the island for our second dive. I have to admit I was a little nervous but I was feeling pretty good towards the end of our first dive and our second dive was great! Ryan was a pro and did awesome!!
When we got back on the boat, they served pancakes which were amazing and it was a great end to a wonderful day! Our dive instructor was awesome and even took a picture with us at the end of the day! She told us to act like we were under water...I don't think she expected me to be such a goof ball because she couldn't stop laughing, haha.
The next day we went on a speed boat tour to Ko Phi Phi. This tour was awesome - there were only 7 of us on the tour so it was really nice to have such a small group. The captain of the boat was really funny, too, because he told us his name was "Porn" but told us if we were uncomfortable calling him that, we could call him "Captain."
We got to explore the beautiful islands of Ko Phi Phi and do a lot of snorkeling! It really was incredibly beautiful! There were lots of islands with big limestone cliffs and coves with crystal water...it was just awesome! They filmed the movie The Beach at Maya Bay which we had a chance to check out (unfortunately I don't have any pictures because it's super crowded so our boat dropped us off on the other side of the island so we could walk through and stand on the beach which was really fun - it required us swimming to the island, too which was pretty cool but took away any potential for us bringing our camera) but trust me, it's gorgeous!! Google it if you don't believe me. They also took us to a small cove to have lunch and we were the only people on the beach for a bit which was incredible! It truly felt like paradise! We did a bunch more snorkeling and then we headed back to Phuket.
In the evening, we decided to be brave and try the fish spa that we had passed in town a few times. These fish naturally eat dead skin so as soon as you put your feet in, they swarm to your legs and start nipping at your legs and feet - it tickled SO much!! I could barely stand it but we kept our feet in and our skin was so clean afterwards!! It was funny!
The next day, we headed to Cambodia...
By the end of our beach day, we decided we wanted to try something exciting, so we booked ourselves a discovery scuba dive for the next day. This was going to be Ryan's first time diving and my second and we wanted to test it out to see if we wanted to get certified sometime in the future. So...we headed out to sea and stopped at a smaller island called, Rachai Yai which was stunningly beautiful. The water was emerald and there were great sea creatures all around!
We did our first dive and then went around to another side of the island for our second dive. I have to admit I was a little nervous but I was feeling pretty good towards the end of our first dive and our second dive was great! Ryan was a pro and did awesome!!
When we got back on the boat, they served pancakes which were amazing and it was a great end to a wonderful day! Our dive instructor was awesome and even took a picture with us at the end of the day! She told us to act like we were under water...I don't think she expected me to be such a goof ball because she couldn't stop laughing, haha.
The next day we went on a speed boat tour to Ko Phi Phi. This tour was awesome - there were only 7 of us on the tour so it was really nice to have such a small group. The captain of the boat was really funny, too, because he told us his name was "Porn" but told us if we were uncomfortable calling him that, we could call him "Captain."
We got to explore the beautiful islands of Ko Phi Phi and do a lot of snorkeling! It really was incredibly beautiful! There were lots of islands with big limestone cliffs and coves with crystal water...it was just awesome! They filmed the movie The Beach at Maya Bay which we had a chance to check out (unfortunately I don't have any pictures because it's super crowded so our boat dropped us off on the other side of the island so we could walk through and stand on the beach which was really fun - it required us swimming to the island, too which was pretty cool but took away any potential for us bringing our camera) but trust me, it's gorgeous!! Google it if you don't believe me. They also took us to a small cove to have lunch and we were the only people on the beach for a bit which was incredible! It truly felt like paradise! We did a bunch more snorkeling and then we headed back to Phuket.
In the evening, we decided to be brave and try the fish spa that we had passed in town a few times. These fish naturally eat dead skin so as soon as you put your feet in, they swarm to your legs and start nipping at your legs and feet - it tickled SO much!! I could barely stand it but we kept our feet in and our skin was so clean afterwards!! It was funny!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Northern Thailand - Chiang Mai
I had always heard great things about Chiang Mai and so I definitely wanted to make it a stop on our trip. The first day, we went ziplining up in the jungle. It was awesome!
The next day, we decided to explore the city so we had the concierge draw us a good map of the best temples (there are over 300 in Chiang Mai) and then we walked that route. We also did a little shopping and of course grabbed some great food. To top it all off, we got a hour long Thai massage for $7 - can you believe it?!
We also rode in our first Tuk-Tuk which was really fun!
That evening, we decided to sneak into one of the custom tailors that we were seeing everywhere and see if it was worth a try. They said they could do 4 custom button-up shirts for us in 24 hours for a really good price so we got measured and picked out the fabrics.
Afterwards, we had a great dinner on the river and then bought a lantern and released it on the way home. I had always wanted to do this in Thailand so it was just awesome!
The next day, we went to the Baanchang Elephant Park and spent the day with the elephants. It was such an incredible day! One of the interesting things about this park is that all of the elephants are rescued (from tourist companies that don't take good care of them, the logging industry, etc.) and each elephant has a Mahout that takes care of them. You can tell that they have quite a bond with each other.
First, they had you change into some Mahout clothes (which turned out to be a good idea because we definitely got messy) and then we got to feed all the elephants bunches and bunches of bananas.
After that, they taught us a few basic commands which we practiced - up, forward, right, left, and down. It was SOOOO cool!
Then we went on an hour long ride through the jungle - we were riding bareback on these elephants which was quite an experience! They had given us the largest elephant, too, so he constantly tried to eat during our ride. :)
Finally, we walked them over to the pond and got to give them a bath which was really great and super fun, especially because he kept spraying us. :)
That night, we went out for dinner and also checked out the Night Bazaar. We picked up our custom shirts - which turned out really nice and got some mango and sticky rice (we were seriously addicted!). Then we headed back to the hotel to rest up because we were heading to Phuket the next morning.
Chiang Mai was one of those places that we realized very quickly that we did not want this to be the last time that we visited - it's such a great city with beautiful scenery, extremely nice people, and a very relaxed vibe. We just loved it! I hope we head there again sometime soon! If you're thinking of going to Thailand, make sure to include a stop in Chiang Mai!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Bangkok - Sight Seeing!
The next day, we went down to the water ferry to go to see a few of the famous Bangkok sights! The ferry is funny because you are crammed on there with lots of other people and then you travel down the river to various stops in the city. Traveling alongside you in the river are these river taxis that are long, slender boats that have a giant engine in them - very iconic Thailand.
We went out onto the front of the boat to take pictures and saw the Temple of Dawn which was really cool!
As we got off the boat on our way to Wat Pho (the Reclining Buddha), we passed several street vendors selling freshly squeezed juices and fruits. We got some fresh pomegranate juice and some fresh pineapple which were both delicious! We walked to Wat Pho, got our tickets and went to see the world famous Reclining Buddha. I don't even know how to describe what I thought when I was there but something about it felt magical. It was so impressive - the big, gold statue was just so cool.
The feet were engraved with mother of pearl, too which was beautiful.
Afterwards, we walked over to The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. As we were walking in, they told us that we would not be able to go in if we were showing our knees. They had sarongs and pants for rent so Ryan and I rented a pair so we could go into the temples. These snazzy additions to our outfits certainly added to our pictures (see what I mean in the pic below?).
On our way back to the ferry, we passed some stalls selling food. I passed an older woman selling mango and sticky rice which is my absolute favorite! It was 50 Baht (about $1.60) and it was as fresh as it gets. She peeled the mango in front of me, pulled out some sticky rice, covered it coconut sauce and nuts and put it in a to go container. It was hands down the BEST mango and sticky rice I had ever had!
In the afternoon, we headed to the Chatauchack Weekend Market; it was about an hour away on the Sky Train which was a pretty awesome public transport system - complete with air conditioning which was very refreshing as Thailand is super hot and humid! The market is absolutely gigantic - it's over 35 acres and it has anything you could possibly want. We spent quite a bit of time wandering around and found a few souvenirs that we liked. The best part of our afternoon was meeting up with Ryan's friend, May. She is from Thailand and had worked with Ryan in Houston. We had the best luck because she was going home to see her family during the same time that we were there, so she met us at the market and then took us to her favorite restaurant. It was great to see her and to eat such delicious, authentic Thai food!! :)
The next day, we took it easy and walked around the city a bit and went to a great restaurant for dinner. It was called the Blue Elephant and the food was delicious!
Early the next morning, we headed up to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand...
We went out onto the front of the boat to take pictures and saw the Temple of Dawn which was really cool!
As we got off the boat on our way to Wat Pho (the Reclining Buddha), we passed several street vendors selling freshly squeezed juices and fruits. We got some fresh pomegranate juice and some fresh pineapple which were both delicious! We walked to Wat Pho, got our tickets and went to see the world famous Reclining Buddha. I don't even know how to describe what I thought when I was there but something about it felt magical. It was so impressive - the big, gold statue was just so cool.
Afterwards, we walked over to The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. As we were walking in, they told us that we would not be able to go in if we were showing our knees. They had sarongs and pants for rent so Ryan and I rented a pair so we could go into the temples. These snazzy additions to our outfits certainly added to our pictures (see what I mean in the pic below?).
On our way back to the ferry, we passed some stalls selling food. I passed an older woman selling mango and sticky rice which is my absolute favorite! It was 50 Baht (about $1.60) and it was as fresh as it gets. She peeled the mango in front of me, pulled out some sticky rice, covered it coconut sauce and nuts and put it in a to go container. It was hands down the BEST mango and sticky rice I had ever had!
The next day, we took it easy and walked around the city a bit and went to a great restaurant for dinner. It was called the Blue Elephant and the food was delicious!
Early the next morning, we headed up to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand...
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Bangkok Muay Thai Boxing
I have spent quite some time dreaming of going to Thailand one day and here we were getting on a plane to head to Thailand and spend 10 glorious days there! Afterwards, we were going to spend 4 days in Cambodia which I was also super excited about - I had seen pictures of Angkor Wat and had always wanted to check it out! I was so incredibly excited and couldn't wait to get there!! Our first stop on our trip was Bangkok, Thailand; we had 2 days there and a lot to see. Our flight ended up being delayed so we got there at dinner time, but that was totally fine.
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| View from the plane on our way there! |
We got to our hotel and immediately headed out for our first Thai food adventure. We already knew that we loved Thai food so we were especially excited to try it in Thailand! We went to this cute little place near our hotel and Ryan ordered Pad Thai and I ordered Red Curry (these are our all time favorite dishes!) and they were delicious! I do have to admit that the Red Curry was a little spicy for me - I forgot that "Thai" hot is above my threshold and so Ryan graciously offered me his Pad Thai - I am blessed with such an awesome husband!!
Afterwards, we went to Muay Thai Boxing and that was quite an experience - we had ring side seats to the evenings' fights. It was particularly crazy because the fighters were all around 100 pounds. The main event were two fighters who were 138 pounds and those were the heaviest guys of the night - very different from any boxing events in the US! What made it so interesting was the ritual involved in it. First of all, there were signs around saying that the boxing ring was considered a sacred place and women could not touch it.
Also, each boxer would kneel before they entered the ring and then walk around the ring and perform their own ritual. It entailed punching each corner, and then performing a dance-like walk in the middle of the ring.
During the entire event, this band was playing non-stop - it was exactly the type of music you would expect at an event like this. This guy was rocking out on the oboe for every fight!
Every boxer had a group of his friends/family cheering him on standing behind his corner of the ring...it really made it feel like a local event (despite all of the foreigners sitting around the ring. :) ).
During the entire event, this band was playing non-stop - it was exactly the type of music you would expect at an event like this. This guy was rocking out on the oboe for every fight!
Every boxer had a group of his friends/family cheering him on standing behind his corner of the ring...it really made it feel like a local event (despite all of the foreigners sitting around the ring. :) ).
There were about 10 fights during the night and most of them were about 100 - 115 pounds (smaller than me!!). These guys really had no mercy with each other...it was crazy to watch! It was certainly a fun first night in such an awesome country!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Samsung 5K
Since coming here to Korea, Ryan and I have started running more and we've been really enjoying it! Our friend told us that there was a 5K sponsored by the other shipyard on Geoje island (about 20 minutes away) and so we signed up. I originally signed up for the 10K and so did Ryan, but my calf had been bugging me so I changed it to the 5K the day before the race. Since I had changed the distance, I had to run with someone elses' bib (Rachel). We got to the race to check in and missed the memo that we were supposed to wear white long sleeve Samsung polos that had been provided (this is primarily because we don't work in their yard).
After a little while, there was a dance performance - it was literally a dance team that was performing on the track. There was also a guy yelling out a lot of things in Korean who looked almost identical to the newly internationally famous PSY. Finally, they signalled for all of us to spread out and do some stretches before the race. Once we had all spread out, they started blaring Gangnam Style and had a choreographed routine of stretches led by a woman on stage to the song and of course it involved the horse dance...it was hilarious!
They had everyone line up for the race on the track behind the starting line and then they started giving us directions in Korean...of which we didn't understand but we figured it out watching all the Koreans start to follow his instructions. They all lined up in single file lines and starting massaging each others' shoulders and then he yelled and everyone turned around and started massaging that persons shoulders...totally goofy. Then they started playing some music and everyone started jumping and clapping and then they started yelling for the 10 seconds before they fired the gun for us to go.
The race was a neat course because it went through Samsung's shipyard which we hadn't seen before. I was feeling pretty good during the race (very surprising because my calf was killing me the weekend before) but I decided to sprint the last 300m to the finish line. It was funny because a few of the Korean men that were running next to me tried to keep up yelling, "Ohhhh, you so fast!" As I hit the finish line, a group of Koreans came up to me and put something around my neck...finally someone came over to explain to me that I had gotten second place for women. I couldn't believe it and I was pretty excited!
Ryan finished his 10K like a champ and they offered us some celebratory kimchi and tofu which I declined politely. Luckily, we found a tent that had some fruit and juice instead so we munched on that.
A bunch of the Samsung employees got together and performed a dance song to...I bet you can guess which song! Check out the video...it was pretty good (the little kid in the green trying to dance like them makes the video even more fun)!
We thought that we had some time before the award ceremony, so we went for a walk. As we were walking back to the track, we heard some award sounding music but I thought the 5K would be the last award because it was the last to start. As we rounded the corner, I heard "Rachel" and I realized that I was supposed to be on stage because I had run under that name in the race. I ran up there and joined the other 7 ladies that were standing there already and they gave me an award (certificate and trophy are both in Korean) and made us turn around and wave to the "crowd."Ryan took a picture of me at the finish line with my trophy - all in Korean - certainly an interesting souvenir for us!
After a little while, there was a dance performance - it was literally a dance team that was performing on the track. There was also a guy yelling out a lot of things in Korean who looked almost identical to the newly internationally famous PSY. Finally, they signalled for all of us to spread out and do some stretches before the race. Once we had all spread out, they started blaring Gangnam Style and had a choreographed routine of stretches led by a woman on stage to the song and of course it involved the horse dance...it was hilarious!
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| Everyone all lining up for stretches on the field |
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| Ryan and I with our friend Kristie - all geared up and ready to run! |
A bunch of the Samsung employees got together and performed a dance song to...I bet you can guess which song! Check out the video...it was pretty good (the little kid in the green trying to dance like them makes the video even more fun)!
We thought that we had some time before the award ceremony, so we went for a walk. As we were walking back to the track, we heard some award sounding music but I thought the 5K would be the last award because it was the last to start. As we rounded the corner, I heard "Rachel" and I realized that I was supposed to be on stage because I had run under that name in the race. I ran up there and joined the other 7 ladies that were standing there already and they gave me an award (certificate and trophy are both in Korean) and made us turn around and wave to the "crowd."Ryan took a picture of me at the finish line with my trophy - all in Korean - certainly an interesting souvenir for us!
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