February 1st 2009 - Chinese New Year
February 1st 2009
Chinese New Year
This week started out with the Chinese New Year - also called the Lunar New Year. This is one of the two most important holidays here in Korea together with Chusok (Korean Thanksgiving). Hyundai Heavy Industries gave their workers 9 days off ... our yard gave their workers two days ! We had plans to go up north for skiing, but in the end we stayed home instead, relaxing and trying to catch up with our email inboxes ! Whenever we left the house we were met by empty streets for a change ! It was really nice to almost feel safe when on the road ! I went for a few mountain bike rides with Ingo and that was the height of activity!
Peo had a relaxing Lunar New Year!
Paula also relaxed!!
And so did I !
Ulsan as seen from the Pagoda above Hyundai Motor Company
This is the furthest away from the apartment that we allow Peo .. they eat cats here !
The effect of the financial crisis - around 20 ships at anchor outside our apartment
Paula hung out with the girls almost every day of the week. They always find something to do - go to the bank, shop for presents (lucky me!) or just go for a coffee somewhere. They had planned to go to Busan on Friday but cancelled as it rained all day. Paula and I then planned to go there on Saturday, but stayed around Ulsan instead as the weather situation in Busan was still uncertain. So we walked around Old Downtown, window shopping. Many of the brand names are almost half price here compared to Denmark, but if you don't need anything then half price is still expensive !
From an old "municipality" near Old Downtown.
One of the platforms being built here at Hyundai Offshore
Pancakes!!!
And the result ... was good!
Friday night I had stayed up late to watch Denmark play France in the Handball World Cup semifinals. It was the first match I watched and the first match where we got wiped out completely! Can't blame the referees. France was just better than we were. I am not sure I will stay up for the 3-4 placing match ..... I have to work tomorrow.
Today Ingo and I went up to the mountains again. I have slowly worn off the extra X-mas layer and can once again make it there and back without too much drama! Today we went looking for a new trail. Or actually an old trail which I had forgotten how to find. My old MTB buddy Geoff had sent me a detailed description of the trail, and with that in hand we managed to have a really good drive. It was a little bit like the Dakar, where you ave to follow a road book !!
Ingo on the Graveyard ride
He made it down without ending up in a coffin!
"You think it is this way?"
"It's definitely not this way!"
Tonight, after cleaning up a little, Ingo will come over for lasagne and left over pancakes with ice cream (the pancakes are left over from yesterday - not the icecream!)
Paula and Ingo