Vietnam

Holy freaking crap - what a month. Ya know when ya do something like this, its always a good idea to write down goals. Specific stuff ya wanna laugh at over a beer with someone way down the line. Maybe its this beer with the pops on a Vietnamese beach called Vung Tau.

...absolutly amazing.



Maybe its crawling around in this - as laughter no longer fits, rather a nostalgic cheers to all the crazy kids who would crawl into this. With a pistol, and a flashlight...looking for their Vietgong counterpart.

Looking for something like this:


Then...do this:

Crawl into this:

Without a flash on your camera...

While you're in this obnoxious debacle, don't get caught in one of these:

...usually covered with a piece of paper masked with dirt.

...dont get whiplash:

I’ve been here for 5 months as of today. I’ve been humbled everyday in many different situations, regardless if I am in Asia. A Texas State basketball camp, or in most cases a cute girl at a bar…haha. Most cases – psh. But the fun thing, laughing about it over a few drinks at the REX Hotel in Ho Chi Minh where a majority of the big brass used to stay during the war. The guys sending young men to die for their indecision and probably even ego.

I really think it takes a lot to humble yourself and realize that every day for the next 7 months, you’ll be waking up in a country where you’re not only a ‘waygook’ (fingre quote it)…you’re also a deaf and blind white dude trying really hard to get into graduate school or even find an ellusive bar in Gwangju. As was the case last evening.

Yeah its freaking bad the hell ass that I’ve been to 6 countries before I’m 24. But according to Korea (as I was born in 86) - I'm 24 as of January 1st. But, I've still got a GRE to deal with on June 12th.

It took me a boat in the Mekong Delta, to stop worrying about grad school.

Haha, watch Dad try to find the toothpicks - and me try to get that damn piece of fruit on my toothpick...

The Great Wall - hm, the brought latters guys, not that great now huh?!?!?

(it took us 3 times to get Dad to open his eyes to take this picture...haha)

About 15 minutes outside Beijing, Dad and I did the Badaling section of the Great (freaking) Wall. We kept saying - never in a million years did we expect to do something like this. It was the off season for tourism, so the wall wasnt PACKED as it normally is during the summer or spring.

Bit of a hike too!

garful old man: Haha, Oct. 1st 1949 the People's Republic of China took over, and Communist China was born - the China we know today. Oct. 1st 1947 my father was born - MY DAD IS OLDER THAN CHINA!!!! (we got a kick out of that)

That's our tour guide Brian: "we can keep walking along - but its just more wall"

Ok, so I totally had a plan to be super productive on my days off, but the tempeture just dropped like 40 degrees in the last 10 minutes. Its going to be 70 tomorrow, so I'll be out and about to blog somemore....for now -

목포에서 환호!!!!!!!

(compey mokpo)

(cheers from mokpo)

Beijing!

Oh, vacating, its beautiful. I started my vacation at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 29th, as my Dad took over the last 30 minutes of my English Camp. 8 Sixth graders were hounded by this MEAN Doctorate of Education. He, literally, almost hit a kid.

Haha, poor kid. It was good times though, he was on skype and I had my students ask the computer "can you visit" and he said "no, I'm in Texas." He was right down the hall, and just walked in, munchkins went CRAZY!!!

Then, it was to Seoul, to fly out here:

We left Mokpo the night before to catch our 11 AM flight to Beijing, in the communist China. It was $170 visa for Americans, $40 for everyone else.

You can see how communist they really are with the way they live - lined apartments after apartments.

At 'half-past noon' (as tim the brit would say it, dont forget the air quote)...we got into China and met out tour guide Brian. It was brilliant, I had spent about $1300 bucks on this tour, and as Jon said last night at moes. "There is and a place time to do it on your own, and there's the time to put down the dough, to take the stress out."

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/package/beijing.htm (in case anyone wants to go to China without stress)

Brian was amazing, he picked us up right outside baggage claim, dropped us off at the hotel and made sure the tour was about us. It seriously took everything that is annoying about traveling out of it, we didn't have to find a cab, or a train, or a horse carriage - we had a personal driver. It was SO worth it.

Tiananmen square:

That is the gate into the Forbidden City, where the
commoners were not allowed - hence Forbidden ;)
...it was a bit later that night obviously

Its also where that happened...

...and China's 'compensation' - wait I mean their show of Military force...

This was inside the forbidden city, obviously, gorgeous in there!!!

So, this was the Temple of Heaven at the end of the Forbidden City. There's this street that goes from this Temple through the Forbidden City all the way to the Bird's Nest. Which is where the 2008 Olympics were. China was very hardcore about making this one street, it kind of signifies their existence. According to our tour guide - I think he means, it means we build really long roads through really cool stuff. Below is the birds nest...again, only called the birds nest cause it looks. like. a birds nest.

....anyway

this was on the way to the T square to our restaurant, cool building eh?

...damn, good, food.

...but i had to pee...in this. EWWW




Then, we did the Zoo o' Beijing. Twas amazing, be sure to see the Panda video at the bottom...




This dude cracked me up!!






After the Zoo we did the AMAZING Summer Palace for one of the Kings way back when. (this was before I got my coffee.

It was so cool there, literally, these crazy kids were on the freaking lake. There was about a foot of ice beneath them, so its not like they could have died - but seriously, who does that. Crazy northerners.

This palace was built as a get away from all the stress that was the forbidden city. Basically where the Kings did their King...thing. Ya know, KINGED around. Haha, it was damn cool though.

Haha, pandas...haha, the opera. Hm. just...hm

Jen: "Asia 10, mikey 0" hahah

Gotta admit, Muju was awesome. That is almost everyone, right to left we've got....Jo, Marie, Steve (superman, or clark kent) alex, roger, liam, shelly (bending down), emily, sarah, amy, me, jon and jen.

There was a sign that said: "Muju Ski Resort, Its a happy time!"

It was an amazing trip, its about 3 hrs away
from Mokpo and freaking cold! I had to do my winter camps with the 6th graders so we left the 2nd to last weekend of January before the padre came to Korea. It was pretty freaking amazing, though I did get stuck on a black diamond on accident.

Stevo and I were riding the lift to the other side of the mountain, as we thought...ended up going to the top....

...whoops.

We asked these Koreans if this is advanced or beginner...it was 'advanceeed.'

Whoops, tis a bit steep...

Haha, I went anyway, this poor kid thought I was taking a pic of him...

Nope, just the black diamond I went down!!!!

Seriously about a 10000 mphs, I said "just don't knock out your teeth"

There were a LOT of people, and we got lift passes from 10:00 PM to midnight, around 70 bucks. it was a bit scary for the rookies of skiing...

Let me paint you a word picture...

Liam was on the bunny hill (right there) and I was way far away and I heard in his Georgia accent..."there are too many damn koreans!!"

...we're in Korea buddy (jen, hahaha)

Seriously can't believe I'm alive after skiing this...

So when I was flying down, I missed the exit for the hill Steve was on, and I just fell to the ground in awe that I was alive and this dude goes....

Korean Guy: Have a happy time??

Me: ahhh, bahhh, ahhhhh, ohhhh, AMAZING!!!! 2nd time, 2nd time

Korean Guy: bahh, pable...!

‘Pable’ in Korean means stupid…haha, down he went on the green.

Anyway, I've got the week off so I'll throw up a few more blogs about China and Vietnam...

Cheers from Mogggie mokpo!!!