Home again

So they decided to come back after all. It was nice to see them - I even managed a little scottie jig/bounce. Laddie did his usual falling on his neck and squirming but we can't all be THAT soppy.

The Food Lady had some photos of their last day with Simon, our tall and amazing human brother, in Seoul. It looks rather chilly, but just right for Scotties.

They went to one of the imperial palaces (Gyeongbokgung) where there were statues of the signs of the Chinese zodiac - and this one is the dog. The Food Lady - and I - just happen to have been born in the year of the dog. Figures. The Alph was born in the year of the goat, Simon and Laddie in the year of the snake and Phil in the year of the tiger.

In the Museum of Folk History, there were drawings of family life in olden day Korea, some of them featuring dogs.

And on the street, in the trendy Insa-dong area, you can buy oriental costume dog coats - but the Alph wouldn't let the Food Lady buy any for us. Which is just as well because I hate dog coats, but Harvey loves them.

And speaking of Harvey, they spotted a Boston Terrier or maybe a French Bulldog walking in the grounds of the War Memorial Museum of Military History. With a coat on.

On the way home, they saw a giant golden Greyhound outside a posh hotel.

Although they were sorry to say goodbye to Simon, they were also happy to be home again in warm and lovely Cape Town,

with a visit from Margie and Clare thrown in - with flowers and a cake. The Food Lady was super happy!

We went for a jaunty walk in Tokai Forest, just look at me doing a hop-and-a-skip.

Thank you Phil (our other amazing human brother) and Kerryn and Harvey for looking after us. We will miss you and hope you will come and stay often.

Back to South Korea

Dear Coco

We flew into Seoul mid-morning and all fell into a coffee shop for our first cup of delicious real coffee since leaving Daegu six days ago. We were waiting for the express train from the airport to the main station in Seoul where Simon had booked us into a guest house.

After checking in to our delightful little guest house, called SS Guest House, Seoul Station, we followed Simon as he led us up the hill on a fantastic walk up to the Seoul Tower so that we could get a good view of this HUGE city, and some exercise.

A cute statue near the Hilton Hotel. I was sorry for that little angel with no clothes, cause it is rather chilly here! When we landed at about midday, it was minus 4 degrees.

Up and up we went,

the city laid out in front of us - or rather, a really small part of the centre of Seoul - surrounded by mountains.

Once we got to the top of the hill (and the bottom of the tower), we found more "love" padlocks all over the viewing platform railings.

And a special love seat for lovers.

We retreated into a the warmth of a little bar up here, and enjoyed a draught beer while watched the sun go down.

Then we walked down in the evening light. It was very pretty.

but very cold!

At the bottom of the hill we went in search of supper, and found a shop named after you Coco,

and I was so inspired, I persuaded the Alph to buy me a pair of scottie gloves in a nearby stall. Simon led us straight to the restaurant that he was looking for,

where he ordered a really delicious soup - with veges, noodles and pork, and we enjoyed our first meal in Seoul very much indeed.

We then wandered around a bit,

before returning to our cosy little guesthouse and a warm and comfy bed.

Tomorrow night we will have to say goodbye to Simon and start the long slog home, so until then Coco, sleep tight, and see you in two days time!

love from the FL xx

Happy New Year!

Dear Coco

I just can't get my head around the fact that it is now 2015! I hear you had a happy new year with Clare looking after you. Lucky dogs. We were taken out to a very delicious Korean barbecue supper by Simon's friend, So Hyoung which was great fun. Unfortunately Simon started to feel a bit unwell (I think he has been working quite hard to entertain us and look after us in Korea and maybe it has just taken its toll) . We decided to let him go home to rest, and we saw the new year in from our 9th floor Hotel Crystal. It is very cold here and we were quite relieved not to have to stand around in the cold waiting for midnight.

The next day I started to feel a bit queasy too - but not too bad. Simon arrived to collect us for the airport and we flew on China Eastern Airways,

via Shanghai Airport,

to Cambodia It took us just short of two hours to get out of the airport at Siem Reap which was exhausting as Simon and I were feeling a bit off, and the Alph was hot and bothered. You have to queue for a tourist visa, then join a LOOONG queue to get through passport control. It was about midnight when we emerged, but luckily our hotel transport was still waiting for us. We were whisked through the streets of Siem Reap and finally fell into this posh bed,

after a very welcome shower with all the bathroom things in pretty silver bowls.

After a lovely long sleep, we had breakfast and strolled down to the markets along the Siem Reap River - meeting some of the locals en route.

The buildings are quite varied - and a vit ramshackle in parts. Many of them hark back to the French protectorate days at the end of the 1800s.

The river is terribly polluted, but some waterlilies manage to grow along the edges.

There are lovely bridges across the river with seats for people to rest in the shade,

and hundreds of enticing market stalls.

It seems the town never sleeps - in fact it gets busier and busier as it gets darker.

We found a nice comfy restaurant

 and had a round of Cambodia beers while we watched the world go by.

On the way home we passed this restaurant called Bugs Café that serves insects! Truly.

Anyway, we decided to give it a miss. Tomorrow we have booked a guide to come and show us the temples that make this place famous.

Hope you are all well. I keep seeing photos of Scotties on facebook and I really need to hug you. Missing you lots.

love from the FL xxxxx

 

New Years Eve

Dear Coco

New Years Eve! It was a bit chillier this morning when we woke up, but we warmed up after a cup of coffee in the Whoever Coffee and Herb coffee shop.

Walking past the coffee shop was this large and bouncy Old English Sheep Dog. Up till now most of the dogs we have seen have been teeny tiny toy dogs.

We walked up to the Yongdusan Park where there is a big tower, and several camellias - some of them flowering.

Far below we could see the fish market we visited yesterday,

and a Hotel Hound which we thought would be fun to stay in one day.

We wandered home slowly, past shops

and people,

then checked out of our hotel Dong Shin, and caught a taxi to the KTX Station down the road where we caught the KTX to Daegu.

The journey took about 40 minutes, going at speeds of 306 km per hour which impressed the Alph very much. If South Africa had such a train we could get from Cape Town to Johannesburg in 7 hours. It had been snowing as we got closer to Daegu and the countryside looked very pretty all dusted with white. When we arrived in Deagu, back to our hotel Crystal, it wasn't snowing anymore, but there was piles of it in the roads and on roofs and vacant lots.

We have a different room, with a different view - of the same tower we walked to earlier. Simon dropped us and went off to do a few chores and go to the gym, while we relaxed in the hotel. We are wondering what Simon has up his sleeve for tonight. I will say goodbye now, as I am sure I wont have time to write again today as we will have to stay up to see in the new year.

I hope you won't have too much trouble with fireworks but I don't think any of you are scared of bangs like poor Dougal. Tomorrow we are off to Cambodia too - and I don't know if that will have such fancy internet as Korea has, but I will write again as soon as I can.

lots of love, The Food Lady

Mind-boggling Busan

Dear Coco

After our late night last night we all woke up rather late this morning, but after a delicious cup of coffee, we set off down the road behind our hotel which was full of Christmas trees, lights and golden statues, like this little Teddy Bear.

I spotted another Dachshund in this shop.

Busan is the second largest city in Korea and one of the things it is famous for is an international film festival that is held each year and it seems that this area is the centre because there are a lot of references to it around.

Another thing it is famous for is its fish market - the Jagachi Fish Market -which was close to our hotel. This is an enormous fish market that goes on and on, outdoors and in a huge building on the docks, where there is a market downstairs and restaurants above.

We had an early lunch on the first floor - which was amazing! On the menu was sashimi or raw fish - which we tried - all of it freshly sourced from downstairs.

We then wandered round the docks to walk off some calories. This is the Jagachi Fish Market building from the water front. Everything is on such an enormous scale here.

Looking west from in front of the Fish Market. 

Hundreds of crates of squid. I am amazed that there are any more left in the sea!

Simon hailed us a taxi - which are plentiful and relatively inexpensive - and we drove through the city to Taejongdae - which has a national park on one of the hills (Busan is also quite a hilly city like Deagu) that is a good place for a walk and some views.

There were a few people out walking there including some dogs. This one caught my eye!

Looking down the cliffs of Taejongdae over ships and some islands It was really hazy, but on some days you can apparently see Japan.

The Alph making friends with one of the resident cats.

Walking down the tree, and camellia and rhododendron-lined road; there are no cars but an occasional tram ferries people up and down.

Very beautiful!

We then hailed another taxi which took us over the most amazing bridge - the Busan Harbour Bridge - which was quite thrilling.

The taxi dropped us at a beach with a view of another amazing bridge called the Gwangan Bridge. We walked along the beach and saw quite a few dogs,

and some rather sad cycads far from home.

As we walked it got darker (which happens at about 4 thirty) and lights started to come on.

As you can see, Busan goes on and on!

When we got back the bridge was all lit up, and the lights shimmer and move, and change cycles. Luckily it was a really mild night.

We went in search of a pub that Simon wanted to take us to, past some fun signs and

and through a tunnel ushering in the new year

till we found the pub.

Then we took the number 41 bus back to our hotel where Simon found us another Korean barbecue restaurant for supper. Myummm.

We wandered back along the lit up street which was belting out Christmas carols. I felt like I was in a movie!

Some of the lights were jellyfish-shaped which reminded us of our experience in the fish market this morning.

Then I spotted some bags in a window that made me think of you my Coco! Hope you are not missing us but judging by all the photos of you that Phil and Kerryn send us, you are having a great time!

lots of love

The Food Lady