May 18th 2008 - Spring Festival

May 18th 2008

Spring festival, Windsurfing World Cup and Whale festival

Here we are again after almost a month of absence. It's not that's there has been nothing to report - we've simply just been too busy to update our online diary. After three weeks back in Ulsan after our trip to Australia, we packed our bags once more and flew to Denmark. But not before packing our entire belongings down into boxes, bags or on the back of trucks and move them 500 meters down the road to our new apartment. I think we have more than 40 plants in all sizes - our Korean movers must have thought we were a bunch of hill-billy farmers !

Our new apartment is a bit smaller than the last one but much more homely and with a better view. We now have a full view of the ocean and the ships on anchorage, waiting for an open slot at the commercial harbour. Peo has also adapted well, although she did not hide her contempt in the beginning !

After moving Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we just had time to go out for dinner with Stewart on Friday before flying to Copenhagen on Saturday morning. We were nackered ! If we didn't have to go, I think we would have delayed it a week or two. But there was no way around it after a few days of R&R in Sweden we were back on track. And we needed all the energy we could summon ! There were so many people to see in both Malmö and Copenhagen and different paperwork to do as well. We managed to get around half an hour with each friend ! But half an hour is still better than nothing - especially when you only get a chance to hook up once a year.

We spent about a week with my parents and family in Denmark. My parents have sold their farm, so it is probably the last time I will sleep in the house I was born in. A little sad of course, but it is a situation we have had some time to get adjusted to. My parents also seem at peace with leaving the place where my father grew up, but are a little bit more uncertain what will happen next. They still haven't found a new place to live, so we tried to help them search for suitable houses. But in the end we can do nothing to help - they must make their minds themselves.

Back in Ulsan we were told that Henrik is on his way back ! This is my colleague who left Korea a month ago .... obviously he had to leave to realize how good a life we have here !! hehe ...

Yesterday we went to the HHI Spring Festival at the Spanish training ground (from the 2002 World Cup). The big Hyundai shipyard arrange this festival for their employees and customers once a year. They fill two soccer fields with activities and food stalls. We were invited there as I write a column for their monthly magazine (http://flik.hhi.co.kr). As we have spent the last two months trotting the world, this was a good opportunity to catch up with some of our friends here in Ulsan. The weather was great, the food excellent and the beer cold !

The festival ended around 3 o'clock and at 5:30 I met up with Stewart to give him the guided tour of SeKwang and our ship. He seemed well pleased with tour, although many questions were left unanswered !!

Today Sunday, we drove down to Jinha beach to have a look at the PWA Windsurfing World Cup Tour. I think we missed the competition, but there were still plenty of windsurfers around. I suspect they were doing a local competition on the last day, as I didn't see any foreing surfers out. They had very good wind, as opposed to last year when it was almost windstill all week, and all the speed made me want to pick up windsurfing again. I promised that this would be the year (I said the same last year!).

After Jinha we drove to the whale museum, where Ulsan Whale Festival was taking place. In the end we just drove past it, as we couldn't find any parking ! I don't suspect that eating whale and drinking soyu would have been our thing, but I would have liked to have a look at it anyway.

Korean tree house !!

Below you can find a long slideshow with more pictures from the farm, Sweden, Denmark and Korea