What the future holds

Today (Christmas Eve) after work, we're going to meet with the other EPIK teachers for a potluck dinner and gift exchange. On Christmas day we don't have much to do during the day, maybe we'll catch a movie, like most Koreans, and then in the evening we'll go to the bar and have a gift exchange with all the foreigners in Wonju.

Wednesday Heather goes back to work and Brandon goes on an overnight field trip with his school teachers. Year end bonding sessions are popular with Korean companies and groups, usually it's just a mandatory all-night drinking session but since we've got public taxes to spend we get to go on an overnight trip. B goes Wed. to a ski resort (good thing he started learning last weekend) and H goes Thu. to a mountain lodge.

Friday after H gets home we'll double check our packing and get a good night's sleep so that we're prepared for the 6 o'clock shutte bus to Incheon Airport. We fly out at 10:35 on Korean Air and land at 2:10 in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). We'll be in HCMC for New Year's (not Tet) but we don't have a firm schedule because we want to be flexible and see everything we can. Our rough idea is to spend 4 days in and around HCMC and then take 2-3 days going up the Mekong into Cambodia. 2 days in Phnom Penh and then on to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. The Angkor Wat complex is a massive expansion of temples and jungle that we could end up spending a few days exploring, depending on how soon H gets bored with them. While it sounds like fun and games we are determined to visit the killing fields, land mine and war museums for a humbling reality check about what's happened in these countries over the past few decades. After two weeks on the tourist trail we'll fly away to sunny Phuket and Phi Phi to snorkel, sun bathe and just relax. Depending on how fast we turn red we'll head up to Bangkok a day or two before flying back to Korea at 1:40 (am) Jan 22. Well as long as that took to type/read believe us it took much longer to plan and put all the pieces in place. Here's hoping most things go smoothly!

Happy Holidays to y'all,

B&H