Harrow Kimchi

Proton Beast Photoshoot

2012-01-23T20:43:00.004+13:00

Have you heard of Proton Beast? They are pretty cool.

When deciding what to do for their new promo shot, I was well inspired by Collette's amazing EP cover:

Wahoo for pink!

Here is their North Island tour schedule...South Island is to come.

A Week of Things

2012-01-19T00:59:00.004+13:00

This week I have had Chloe from Melbourne staying at my house. We've been to the Little Chief Christmas Party, watched Stu support Beirut with Tono and the Finance Company at the Powerstation and tonight we went to a David Sedaris reading at the Town Hall and ate at The Depot afterwards.

David Sedaris is one of my favourite authors to recommend at the bookstore, I love finding someone who has never read him before and sharing the Sedaris joy. I told him this when I met him this evening - he just smiled sweetly, we had a chat about the rise of independent bookstores, he told me he liked my necklace and gave me this:

Tawharanui

2012-01-09T23:25:00.005+13:00

I drove one hour North to Sarah's family crib for one night of fresh air and lapping water.

We walked along the beach drinking wine in the evening, and walked along the beach drinking coffee/tea in the morning.

I tried desperately to read my book club book for the next evening (Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse) but kept getting distracted by Oscar the cat, red wine, freshly caught fish, a mulled wine plum and meringue dessert and lovely company.

Dum Dum Girls at the Kings Arms

2012-01-08T18:16:00.000+13:00

I really, really wanted to be a part of the Bangles when I was small person. The modern version of this dream would to be a part of the Dum Dum Girls, but I don't think I have the bad ass rock'n'roll goods. Or musical talent. (Though I do have a fringe...)

On Friday night, I took some photos at the Dum Dum Girls concert for Volume Magazine. These Californian ladies know how to rock ripped tights, lace and short shorts, which were well appreciated by the crowd. A very drunk fan next to me took about 500 photos of Dee-Dee's bum.

Here is a video of their album trailer:

Here is a video of them singing The Smiths. Swoon!

Morris and Murdoch

2012-01-07T17:32:00.002+13:00

Burnley Tce has again become a foster kitten zoo with the arrival of these cute brothers. They are a little person shy, but definitely happy to pose for the camera - just like those twins from New Zealand's Next Top Model.

New Year Massive

2012-01-03T10:13:00.004+13:00

Before:

After:

Happy New Year to all of my lovely readers. Thanks for paying attention to my photos and ramblings. Here's to an awesome year of baking, photos, crochet, music, books, travel, reupholstering and friends for me and you!

Fandamily Time in Dunedin

2012-01-02T17:47:00.009+13:00

Merry Christmas from Jenna and Maeve

2011-12-23T18:20:00.001+13:00

Reupholstering Chairs 101

2011-12-11T19:48:00.004+13:00

1) Find a bunch of old chairs - preferably free. The inorganic street collections are perfect for this, it may take a bit of slow drive bys on streets in wealthy Auckland neighborhoods but it will happen.

2) Sand, stain and varnish your chairs.

3) 6 months later, realise that you will never find the perfect ginormous piece of 50's floral upholstery fabric that will cover all six of your chairs.

4) Start buying pieces of mismatched prints.

5) Have a first Sunday off in a month and go crazy with a staple gun.

6) And Bob's ya uncle...for two chairs anyway - I'm off to ebay for more fabric.

treespotting

2011-12-05T22:05:00.003+13:00

Tono, Taart and I spent much of today looking for the perfect set of trees for Tono's new album cover. They had to be perfectly spaced and sized - ready for an extraordinary photo shoot full of many fun things. This was a difficult yet pleasant task.

Watch this space...!

Frida visits the North

2011-12-04T22:55:00.002+13:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately - things have been busy, busy but in a great way. I've been learning about photoshop processes, business tax, album covers and time balance.

Today I had an afternoon off and went up North to hang out with Rose aka Frida for her birthday. It was lovely.

Also, my dear friend Jenna-Lee has just launched her new website. I went all through photography at art school with Jenna (yes, we were "the Jennas") and I am so stoked to see all of her amazing work in one place. You may also catch my face on there...!

The Joys of Commercial Photography

2011-11-21T21:39:00.004+13:00

And real joys they are!

Today was a very good day because I got to go and visit a Dog Grooming business as a part of one of my latest photography jobs. If this photography/book selling thing goes topsy turvy, I think I have found my new career.

Kerri's Videos from our HanaTour Trip

2011-11-16T22:11:00.003+13:00

Hehe I just found these!

Shelly and Stephen's Fabulous Wedding

2011-11-13T21:36:00.005+13:00

I wanted to share some shots that I took of Shelly and Stephen at their wonderful wedding on Friday.

They are such a lovely and creative couple and I had such a fantastic day with them - I couldn't help but take a thousand pictures of the amazing styling and I had such a great day with this beautiful family.

Shelly and Stephen looked incredible!

They had the best dressed children out...

A darling ceremony venue...

And there are no words for the amazing flowers, cakes and reception venue...

This is only a sneak peek!

Being Local

2011-11-08T18:09:00.002+13:00

November is one week in - the sun is starting to come and stay out and photography things are getting busy. I'm really excited about a lovely vintage style wedding I am shooting at Cornwall Park this weekend and I've just got a contract taking pictures for Localist. The Localist is a website and yellow pages type book that is all about being local in Auckland - so...that's what I've been taking pictures of.

Here is an outtake of gorgeous Poppy on Mount Eden today - she and her Dad Josh regularly grab cardboard and zip down the side of the mountain.

We also saw naughty people walking into the crater. What dicks.

Isn't this the cutest?

2011-11-07T18:02:00.002+13:00

Nothing is better than Harroween...

2011-11-06T11:27:00.006+13:00

Feargal sleeping on a discarded costume post-party...

Korean Stereotypes

2011-11-03T13:27:00.000+13:00

This is my friend Kerri:

and this is a delicious breakfast we ate one day.

...and here is a video she made with her students in Korea.

DUCK/CAKES/CAT

2011-10-30T17:20:00.003+13:00

There's nothing I like better than a peking duck fest and this is what we ate for my good friend Alex's birthday. Nom nom nom.

Alex is most lucky to be attached to Tina (cake maker extraordinaire) and here is his "HOT LAVA" cake, complete with dry ice and a white mousse filling (with red food colouring.)
It was also extremely delicious.

It was also my boss Wendy's birthday recently. I made her a cake that fulfilled her lemon dreams as it contained a milk cake soaked in lemon syrup, lemon curd and lemon buttercream. It was just delicious and veryyyy sweet.

I'll end with pictures of Lucinda checking out the new releases and hugging the Hungry Caterpillar. Just because.

Glue/HAKAPeepshow/Molars

2011-10-25T18:45:00.010+13:00

While in Dunedin, I was so happy to have amazing Kate give me a late night, private tour of the recently opened Glue Gallery.

Here is a little bit of the venue, a blurry shot of the back garden and Kate's caravan covered in Bachelorette photographs.

Unfortunately my camera battery died and I didn't take photos of the 'zine library, the shop, the gallery or some of the studio spaces. But trust me, it's an amazing space and so great for the Dunedin art and music community.

I also saw Rachel Rakena's sculpture Haka Peepshow plonked in the Octogon. I love it!

There has been many a letter to the editor complaining about the "$50,000 big, black penis" but these people need to get over it. Actually, people suddenly being offended by a penis after being completely obsessed by the penis fest that is otherwise known as the Rugby World Cup, gives me a giggle.
Rakena says that Haka Peepshow should be considered in the "broader context of the sexualisation and commodification of Maori sportsmen and the representation of their masculinity and culture in the media." There is nothing better than looking into the peepholes and being eyeballed by Tama Iti doing the haka - it gave me chills.
I'm a bit behind on the discussion on this work but I've only just seen it and it's great to see just a tiny percentage of what has been spent on the Dunedin Stadium, going towards a very important work by a very exciting Ngai Tahu artist. Read more at the Haka Peepshow website. I also found this article in the Critic magazine pretty awesome.

Another work that got its fair share of ODT complaint letters, Harbour Mouth Molars by Regan Gentry were defaced by some extremely original taggers over the weekend. Luckily I got these pictures before they were cleaned the next time I was driving past again...hehe!

Sunny(!) Dunedin(!!)

2011-10-24T18:18:00.011+13:00

I'm in Dunedin! Look at my cute sister (with Ah-Rhee)

I wasn't going to watch the rugby final, but I was seduced into going to Leigh's house because we got to wear costumes.

Maaate, we were all about the sausages and double brown.

And being manly men.

Lei got her cauliflower ears on.

My bandana actually says "Totally Awesome", not Jesus.

Googley eyes from watching too much TV.

All Blacks Trivia:
1) One has the last name "Wee poo."
2) One shot a seal to death. What a cool dude.
3) One has a single testicle.

After a great, friend filled evening, I then went to the Dunedin wop wops - just up from Purakanui - to stay at Lei's BEAUTIFUL turret house.

I woke up to this.

A perfect ending to a very sunny long weekend in Dunedin.

Luckless Tour

2011-10-23T10:34:00.004+13:00

Look at this! Luckless have just announced their NZ tour, they are even going to Dunedin! You should watch this video and then go watch them play. Honest.

Have a look at the tour schedule. It even has a "Jenna Todd" photo attached to it.

In print twice this week!

2011-10-12T22:11:00.006+13:00

1) Photos of the Fabulous/Arabia concert from Sunday printed straight away in Volume Magazine this week.

2) An article for the almighty Central Leader about my photography trip to Labasa, Fiji - focusing on the adorable patient Tula Ram.

Are you ready for a cheesy photo of yours truly...?

That's some strong smelling cheese.

Also, Mrs. Liz Phillips just sent me some pictures of myself in surgery at Labasa Hospital. Never in my life did I think I would don a pair of scrubs.

Fabulous/Arabia

2011-10-10T15:28:00.002+13:00

I took this photo of James and Mike from Fabulous/Arabia after their concert at the Kings Arms last night. (To be seen in Volume Magazine this week.)

It reminds me a lot of this picture of the amazing pair, Luci and Chloe at Campus last year.

Both have twin tired and wired glare eyes.

HAMILTON!

2011-10-03T15:05:00.000+13:00

You know how you have a dear friend, but you do not talk very often...maybe like every six months. And when you catch up, everything is just the same.

Well, a lot can happen in six months - in this case, when Rose and I went to visit lovely Holly in Hamilton, a little bump had emerged from Holly's belly.

Luckily, I had these up my sleeve...they take a lot less time to make than my blanket!

We had dinner at my favourite Hamilton restaurant, Chim Choo Ree (actually it's the only restaurant I have eaten at in Hamilton.)

We had a lot of cups of tea, walked by the river, went to the Farmer's market and had such a relaxing time, with amazing hosts.

And of course I did not forget to visit Riffy.

Two Birthdays = Two Chocolate Cakes

2011-09-26T22:40:00.004+13:00

I made two birthday cakes this weekend. One was for the lovely Tina aka. cat cake extraordinaire and the other for my lovely workmate Nevena.

Tina's was a chocolate cake covered in meringue - this is from the Molten Cookbook which is coming out very soon. Luckily I got a sneak peek and recipe!

Nevena's was again, chocolate, with buttercream icing (meringue with a block of butter) and flavoured with raspberry juice. The icing was so thick my amateur piping equipment was not doing the trick, so I spread it on and covered the flaws with hundreds and thousands.

Sunday Skype with Maeve

2011-09-18T17:06:00.004+12:00

A sisterly goss...

This is all I'm listening to right now.

2011-09-17T23:43:00.002+12:00

It's Saturday night, I've just come back from a lovely photography job and I have Haunted Love's new album on repeat (while crocheting of course.) Can't wait for the release party!

http://hauntedlove.bandcamp.com/

Crochet + Radio

2011-09-12T21:18:00.004+12:00

On Friday and Saturday, Auckland turned into a sunny spring haven. This is it, I thought, spring is definitely here. I planned a walks for my weekend, an afternoon of chair sanding in the afternoon - my weekend was going to be full of fresh air and productive.

What eventuated was that Sunday and Monday has been raining pretty much non stop and there was even a tornado.

What to do with this weekend inside?

Well, our flat plunger will never look the same:

You may remember my ridiculous crochet granny square blanket I have been making. You will be happy to know it is and has been pretty much finished for the last few months.

I just have the horrible and boring task of sewing in the ends. It's going to take forever!

This has been coupled with endless episodes of This American Life. My favourite episode lately has been about apologies. Especially as it has a David Sedaris story.

This is Labasa.

2011-09-05T09:00:00.003+12:00

FOOD! Liz and I ate too much food on this trip - it was so delicious. We would go to a home, eat the most we'd ever eaten in our lives, go to another home and then dinner would be unexpectedly served again! Fish, curry, chutney and bread. Oh god!

Apparently, there is not much to do in Labasa, so everyone pimps out their cars:

Gorgeous families in their homes and around the neighbourhood.

Stunning countryside, candied architecture, coconut trees and sugar cane fields.

We were driving around looking for a family and we pulled up to this house. I couldn't resist getting out and photographing this stunning girl, her sister and great-grandmother. If I were Tyra, I'd be cashing in on this one being a supermodel. I must add a thank you to Liz who had to deal with the "Do you want to have sex?" taxi driver while I was snapping away obliviously. Creepo! (This was the only bad Fiji experience.)

My Country is Crazy.

2011-09-04T18:30:00.006+12:00

I don't just dislike rugby, I consider myself an active rugby hater. In my humble opinion, my country spends too much money on hosting a sporting event rather than improving the general well-being, healthcare and education of New Zealanders.

Anyway, I recently betrayed my role as an active rugby hater by appearing on the current affairs show Campbell Live in the most naff media segment ever to be shown on television. But as much as I hate rugby, I love my job at Time Out more.

Watch as the Mount Eden Village gets "in the spirit" here: http://www.3news.co.nz/Mt-Eden---Aussies-home-away-from-home-at-RWC/tabid/367/articleID/224176/Default.aspx

Sorry for mentioning rugby on my blog. Never again.

Rant over.

OH MY GOD, LOOK AT MY CAKE!

2011-09-03T20:51:00.003+12:00

When I opened my door last night to THIS...

...I could not stop smiling for hours. My amazingly talented friend Tina (aided by Alex) made this pineapple and brazil nut cake with rum butter icing for my 26th birthday. Check out Tina's brilliant creations on facebook - I bet she is capable of making anything in cake form.

Nom nom nom nom.

Asides from the cake, I had such a great birthday. I seriously thought as I got older, my birthday would become a blip on the radar but so many people made such a lovely effort to make my day special. I had breakfast made for me. presents, a delicious lunch, TWO bunches of flowers delivered to work, work presents and more cake, many texts, messages and phone calls, a group viewing of the final of NZ's Next Top Model (complete with minted butter sandwiches) and wine and friends in my living room. Phew!

And of course I did not take any photos of these, I was too busy just enjoying it.

Fred Hollows Trip to Fiji

2011-08-29T15:01:00.010+12:00

About 3 weeks ago, I got a phone call from my lovely friend Liz who is the communications manager for the Fred Hollows Foundation NZ. She pretty much was like, 'I'm sorry about the late notice, but do you want to come to Fiji with me and photograph an outreach?' Of course I was like, 'Heck yes!'

In the early 1990's, Fred Hollows set up a non for profit organisation that does amazing things. He saw the huge lack of eye care in developing countries and people being needlessly blinded by cataracts. He organised for intraocular lenses to be made affordable and the training of doctors from these developing countries, so they can treat their own people. He died only months after the launch of The Fred Hollows Foundation, but luckily deserving lives are still being changed 20 years later. In a nutshell, it costs $25 and takes a 20 minute operation to remove a cataract.

One thing I really love about The Fred Hollows Foundation is that is non religious! So people can be treated without the pressure of praising Jesus.

This is probably about a tenth of what needs to be explained about this foundation but you can find out more here.

Our job was to go to Labasa Hospital as an awesome two man team.

The team from the Pacific Eye Institute in Suva (funded by Fred Hollows) were coming in for a week of intensive eye care. We were to follow the teams of surgeons, hospital staff and patients over the week and bring back to New Zealand stories of success that can be used for further fundraising.

Labasa is a town on the island of Vanua Levu of Fiji. There is high unemployment, huge rates ofdiabetes (40% for people of 40) and poor health care in general, however it has a HUGE heart and is known as the 'friendly nook' of Fiji.

I have SO many photos and stories from this trip, it's hard to know where to start so I think I will begin at what happens for a patient that comes to the hospital.

First of all, there are hundreds of people waiting for an appointment. The eye clinic is free and here for a week, so everybody wants in!

People have varying degrees of eye problems and wait and wait and wait for an initial eye test.

Mostly, the problem is cataracts, their eye is marked and they wait and wait and wait for an operation.

They get up to the surgery, have an injection below the affected eye and are operated on while awake.

I am super, super squeamish and sorry for this picture, but it shows what it all looks like while they are operating (the discarded cataract is the gooby bit on the nose.)

The eye is bandaged and the patient is sent home for the night. (Oh I love this smiley man!)

The next morning, they wait and wait and wait for their bandage to be removed. This lovely dear was blind as a bat, he was guided in with a big stick and after the bandage was removed he was so, so happy and zipping around the room with no problems.

Then, they are given dark sunglasses and wait and wait and wait, but mysteriously.

After a few more eye tests with charts and what not, they are sightfully reunited with their waiting families. *Tear*

Pretty easy huh? I may have left out some things but that's how it works in a quick whiz. Everybody was so kind and happy to let us photograph them - I still have some individual stories to share. That can wait until tomorrow!

snowhere to go

2011-08-15T23:24:00.001+12:00

Sunday afternoon was a time for rugging up and a last visit to Mum and Maeve in hospital. Dunedin was scheduled for snow, my city is full of hills and gets very frosty and just a small amount causes a bit of chaos.

Even wee Maeve had to rug up in her hospital room as the whole city cooled down and amplified drafty nooks and crannies.

I was picked up from the hospital by a 4WD owning family member and delivered safely to Anderson's Bay.
By the late evening the ground was well covered. I went to bed with two duvets and a woollen blanket - BRRRR! Also, I was very unsure whether my flight to Auckland would leave in the morning.

I woke up to an inconveniently beautiful morning.

My flight was indeed cancelled. Luckily I found out before I got dressed (PJ day!) and I spent the day trying to knit my incredibly difficult socks, baking muffins and drinking wine with Nana.
Ooh and the most exciting part was that I got to be home for Mum and Maeve's homecoming.

Let's see if I make it back to Auckland tomorrow! I am feeling incredibly guilty at my neglect of my wonderful job - I hope they remember my face!

Crispy Dunedin

2011-08-14T22:04:00.009+12:00

I've been terrible at photographing anything other than Maeve this week. She and Mum have been going well, however they are still in hospital.

Other than hanging with the family. I've eaten at Jizo twice, seen Liam Finn and the Drab Doo Riffs at Refuel (they were both rad-tastic) and had mulled wine at Albar. I've eaten fish and chips with Luci, DJ, Gianna and Logan followed by ginger wine at Dowling St. I had many flat whites with friends I love and shopped at Modern Miss.
I'm learning to knit cable knit socks. They are very difficult.
I went to Ralph Hotere's birthday celebration at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. I highly
recommend seeing he and Bill Cuthbert's work Pathway to the Sea - Aramoana, it's stunning. Also, Pieter Hugo's Nollywood exhibition is the photography I've seen in ages.
I did not take a picture of any of these activities but they were fantastically fun.

On Friday, my camera came out of hibernation. Rice and Beans are currently showing Michael Morley's curated show Powderfinger. Luckily his show has this living room arrangement (the chair was temporarily added) and we (Claire, Katherine, Clara and I) spent a lovely afternoon in the sun.

This image of Clara is my favourite photo I've taken in ages. She had just been to the Slutwalk in the Octagon and was proudly wearing her sticker. Below is her gorgeous wide eyed sister Emerald.

Claire and I went to the dump shop. To believe all of this is thrown out!

I popped in to Al's studio to pick up some framing. I am very excited about his mannequin hand collection. I am also very excited that my portrait drawn by Nam Cheol in 2009 and my two Vietnamese propaganda prints are now encased beautifully in perfect Al Ibell precision.

Wee Maeve.

2011-08-10T23:29:00.004+12:00

Here is wee Maeve, my adorable new sister. There is almost 26 years between us.

Logo

2011-08-08T22:00:00.002+12:00

Luckless Photo Shoot

2011-08-07T15:37:00.000+12:00

I was barely back in New Zealand when the lovely Ivy Rossiter from Luckless (please listen!) booked me to take some band pictures. Set in an old art deco building, we went for stark and moody.

Here are the brilliant models Ivy and Will:

Melbourne Rules. That is all.

2011-07-17T17:38:00.000+12:00

Oh and it's a little chilly.

True story: About 5 minutes after this picture was taken, poor Jenna-Lee broke her ankle dancing to "Everybody" by The Backstreet Boys. (Ironically, post ice skating.) This post is dedicated to you J-Lee. XX

A day with Tien in Ha Noi

2011-07-13T23:33:00.000+12:00

I was picked up by Tien at a reasonable morning hour, and scootered to Blue Butterfly restaurant for a Vietnamese cooking class.

First on the agenda was to go to the market to look and choose ingredients. I wish I had this choice every time I cooked! Maybe except for the frogs - they were freaky.

And of course there were the most wonderful people to look at.

What a sweetie!

This is Tien. He is a fabulously sweet guy, and a great teacher. I learned a few tricks of the trade and made a ginormous three course lunch that was a struggle to finish. Carrot and papaya salad, spring rolls and chicken and lemongrass stirfry.

Winners!

After my class, I made my mission for the afternoon to cycle around the city. But by a lovely twist of fate, I ran into Tien and he invited me to come and meet his family. My mission abandoned for something much better, I jump back on his scooter and we drove for about 30 minutes outside of the Old Quarter.

When we turned up on his doorstep, I was greeted by this gorgeous little thing, Tien's daughter Thu.

And here is Tien's mother who lives with he and his wife, in a very modest home covered in pictures and learning posters for Thu.

I was pretty much trying not to cry with happiness the whole time, it was so amazing to be able to spend time with this lovely family. Tien works ALL THE TIME, with one day off a month and he still finds time to study English and take care of this family. They all just went about their daily activities and I followed with my camera.

Thu's bath was made with a strained type of fruit. It's like a really bitter green melon. Thu was loving it.

Tien's wife came home (she is also a chef, they met at cooking school) and starting preparing a delicious meal for us in their simple outdoor kitchen.

I then got to meet a few members of Tien's very tight community, they just wandered in and out of each others homes, sharing resources, drinking tea and shooting the breeze.

Isn't Tien's mother just beautiful?

Thu peeled me about 100 lychees. Delicious!

And I think she was just a bit worn out by the time dinner was served.

We had squid, pork and delicious vegetables. I felt so, so super lucky to have dinner with this lovely family. I almost fell over when I found out they were the same age as Stu and I!

After dinner, we scootered back into the Old Quarter and Tien went back to work at the restaurant. I went to sleep extremely happy and grateful that I was taken in and treated so well by Tien and his family - for no other reason than kindness.

My last morning in Ha Noi began with a shoe shine, which was well needed after all of that walking!

Lunch!

And a last wander....

One thing I definitely know about Vietnam is that I have only seen a tiny centimetre of what it has to offer. I have to go back soon! When I paid my hotel bill, it was $300US for EVERYTHING - just incredible! (It really grinds my gears seeing tourists bargaining over a dollar or two, it's so so cheap for us and that money means a lot more to the people we are giving it to.)

Anyway, my time with Tien's family was definitely the most special, Ha Long Bay was lovely, the food was freaking delicious, as was the coffee. I loved being on my own, having no one to rely on and taking everything in on my own time. Ha Noi love.

Ha Noi Love

2011-07-12T15:37:00.000+12:00

Breakfast with Nhung. (A friend of wonderful Lei back home.)

Wandering around/stalking with my camera - whatever you want to call it.

Wires...is this dangerous? Who knows.

I drank more delicious, delicious Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk in the bottom. And stole a baby to hang out with under cover while it rained heavily. She wasn't wearing a nappy: it's good to live dangerously sometimes.

I was so, so happy to catch some of the group exercising that happens daily around the lake.

I was sitting at a street stall eating a simple and delicious beef meal...

...this was the view on either side...

...when a lovely Vietnamese young couple sat at my table (in place of that tired child pictured above) and started offering me bits from the many plates they had ordered. Oh so yum! I had just been ordering from what I could see and they had many more treats up their sleeves.

They then bought me a few beers (heat+beer=is good.) and we chatted an evening away.

Night scenes.

I decided to go on a last minute trip to Ha Long Bay. I wasn't amazingly keen initially because of the touristy-ness I had heard about. But Kerri had convinced that its beauty that would out stand any harem-panted drunkards.

First we went to this amazing cave - Dong Thien Cung. The coloured lights are a bit much but the rock formations are just incredible and it's hard to believe they are natural!

The bay itself is so lovely, and it was nice to be in the quiet talking books with my boat mates. (No harems to be seen fortunately!) Ha Long bay will never look as good in photos.

Boats of Tourists...

People actually live here in fishing villages - how amazing would it be to wake up here every morning?

Here is our lovely tour guide and driver - they made the 3.5 hour journey there and back great. One day I would like to bike or scooter or walk this route - anyone keen? It would only take a day I reckon.

My favourite thing to do in Hanoi is sit at street stalls and watch the city pass me by. There is nothing better than being plonked at a plastic table with a family, eating amazing and cheap pho and drink bitter iced tea. While I was eating this meal, a woman got of a scooter with her two small children next to our table. The wee girl squatted and the mother held the penis of the wee boy and they wee wee-d on the street. As I said, I love street food.

Balloon?

A rough start to Vietnam.

2011-07-09T11:09:00.000+12:00

It's 6am. I wake up and tearfully/sleepily say goodbye to my partner in crime Kerri and amazing host Sarah.

Subway -> Subway -> Airport Train (side note: you can now get an airport train from Seoul Station and Hongdae, you can even check in like in Hong Kong. It rules.)

Time is going well. I have had to buy and carry another bag because of my Seoul purchases. But I am handling pre-flight jitters well.

Low and behold, when I go to buy my ticket for the airport train, my wallet IS NOT THERE. The poor, young ticket man stares at me helplessly as I babble in English and tear apart my bags. "The train leaves in 4 minutes..." he says. I look at him wildly, "I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!" He shoves a ticket in my hand (first guardian angel of the day - bless!) and I run down to the platform. My wallet has my only form of currency, my visa debit card...I try not to think about this as I travel to the airport. To Vietnam. Completely alone.

I harass a man as he is about to put his iphone headphones in. I ring my ladies from their slumber back at Sarah's apartment. The hunt for my wallet is on.

I am also slightly worried about this enormous mosquito bite that has doubled the size of my forearm.

At the airport, I beg a cafe to use their purchase only Internet, make a few collect calls and generally do not feel calm.

Thank goodness I was seated next to this wee one on my plane.

Minseok instantly started calling me 'Nuna' (older sister) and goes straight into talking about his girlfriend at school. Bless! Every so often on the flight, he would lean on me and tell me how happy he was that we were sitting together. Would he understand my wallet problem? Probably not. I decided to keep the conversation light.

Another thank goodness was that I ordered a car through my hotel (Rising Dragon) to pick me up from Hanoi airport. It was a very good feeling to see a wee man with a wee sign that said my name. Driving from the airport is fantastic - scooters zip past us holding unhelmeted men smoking cigarettes, my driver keeps the car firmly in the middle of the two lanes. I borrow his phone, call my hotel to warn them of my impending moneyless arrival. They say not to worry -and as we pull up to the hotel in the Old Quarter, David greets me at the door and tells me to think of Rising Dragon like my home, that I can borrow cash from them and I instantly feel a ton of weight lift off my shoulders.

After spending a few hours on the phone, canceling credit cards and the like. I go for a wander around Hoan Kiem Lake.

I then eat at a touristy, pretty good tasting restaurant. But, touristy.

...and collapse into bed very early, so tired from my roller coaster of a day. Then it hits me that my first memory card is also in my wallet. I go to sleep feeling very sorry for myself (but happy to have my health.)

26/7/11 UPDATE: I just received my wallet in the post from Korea. Completely intact and the only reason it has no money in it, is that I told Sarah to take it. I knew I would get it back! I love my honest Korea.

A week in Seoul.

2011-07-08T22:14:00.000+12:00

Cute cafe reunions...

I came back to Seoul feeling like I had been there a few weeks ago and not much had changed (except that EVERYONE has an iphone) but then there are some new additions:

Norebang with Taewon!

Eyebrow Dog!!!!!!!!!

New glasses, $25 - oh yeah.

Dokkgalbi with Ashley. Seriously delicious.

Nangmyeon. The best summer dish.

Escalators that go on forever.

THE VINTAGE MARKET! How the heck did we find this again Kerri?

Old men eating pajeon and drinking soju.

Dinner with Tiko and Sarah!

Nam San Tower

The padlocks at Nam San Tower. True love right here, looking over an amazing view of Seoul - a city that goes on forever.

Biking along the Hann River...

Cuties by the Hann River.

CUPCAKES!

Manicures...xo

Dog shoes...

A telephone for every size.

Rainy day by the Gyeongbukgung Palace.

Dunkin' Donuts.

Elizabeth Beach!

Galbi San with old workmates in Wong Dang (my old home)! Holy Delicious!

My old student Laura.

SHABU SHABU - two years of waiting.

Kiwi soju cocktails at Beer Garden. *sigh*

Cheongju: Hello Cat

2011-06-30T12:59:00.000+12:00

The next morning we woke up with an unfamiliar feeling for this trip - hungover.

Luckily we were in the most luxurious of all love motels we had stayed at. The country cottage themed, aptly named Toronto. We slept in, packed our bags wearily and then decided to get some lunch before we left for a yet undecided destination.

But then this happened. Tea? With cats? Lounging around fake fire places? YES PLEASE.

Bear with me here....

Here is the mother of all cat ladies. She does not speak human.

The cafe was extremely clean and the cats had a little private area to do their business, sleep and chill out.

And then, there is Ming.

Before...

And after...

Don't get me wrong, you won't see any of my kittens looking like this. But I'm sure this is one of the most loved cats in Korea. Everyday animal rights do not feature high on the list of priorities in Asia (war anyone?) and eating meat is considered a privilege to many people. Most people live in apartments so if you do have a pet it's probably a cat or a small dog and it's going to be cuted up to the max.

You are even provided the tools de-fur yourself on leaving.

We emerged, ahhhhhh, about FOUR HOURS later. To late to travel anywhere, we checked back into Motel Toronto. It was just fine with me!

Cheongju: Meeseok's Studio

2011-06-29T10:34:00.000+12:00

Kerri has an old ceramicist friend in Cheongju, whom she has wanted me to meet for years, so we thought we'd make it happen. So we headed to the capital (Where Jikji, the world's oldest book was printed in 1377.) of the Chungcheongbuk-do Provence, centre left of South Korea.

This is Meeseok's studio. Yes, that is a tree in the middle and he gave us many, many, many cups of tea.

Meeseok is not your typical Korean. He always wears a casual hanbok, he has long hair and John Lennon glasses, he's a legend. His work is stunning and if I was very rich - I would definitely be investing. Huge pots with carved images and white slip - so simple, yet bold.

One of Meeseok's other loves is homemade Makgeoli. Potent and delicious rice and wheat wine, loved by all adjosshi's and adjumma's in Korea (especially while hiking I've noticed.) In the picture below, the bag to my left is full of empty makgeoli bottles.

We were joined by Meeseok's friend Mr. Jong for a dinner of stir fried kimchi, tofu and beef and boiled pork.

And then, it was norebang time! What an excellent night indeed!

Golgulsa Temple

2011-06-28T18:18:00.000+12:00

After visiting all of these beautiful temples on our trip so far. I thought I'd better make the most of my time here and stay at one.

I felt a bit lonely getting on the bus in Gyeongju after being surrounded by people for the past week but I trucked on anyway!

Jinju -> Gyeongju: 2.20

Gyeongju -> Golgulsa Turn off: 40 min

Walk to Golgulsa: 20 min

After I arrived I was taken to my room (a step down from my bed the night before):

I met my gorgeous Korean roommate Yanghae. She didn't speak English well, but we got by on what we knew of each others languages. Also, silence is encouraged at the temple so it was nice to be with someone but not have too much expected of me in conversation.

I was then taken to dinner. The food was all vegan and completely fresh and delicious. The rule here is that you can not leave even a grain of rice on your plate - which I think is a good philosophy to live by (and something I do not do very often!)

We had an evening chanting service, followed by Sunmudo training. Sunmudo is a South Korean practice consisting of martial arts, yoga and meditation. Different instructors took us for different classes and one of them was a Norwegian guy who had come here 8 years ago and never left. It seems to me that to train and live here as a Buddhist, completely dissolves any other life happenings.

So this is what a day at Golgulsa is like, plus or minus a few activities:

4.00am Wake up call from the young chanting monks. Not too much of a problem because it was so beyond early.

4.30am Chanting service, meditation and walking meditation. So beautiful in this temple, settled a top a hill.

6.00am Snooze

6.30am Breakfast

7.00am Snooze

8.30am Sunmudo Training (Yoga based)

10.10am 108 bows

11.00am Meditation (we walked up a mountain)

11.50am Lunch

12.15pm Snooze

2.00pm Archery (I snoozed through this...whoops!)

3.00pm Community service (weeding and the like)

4.00pm Snoozing, reading, walking around

5.30pm Dinner

6.00pm Snooze

7.00pm Chanting

7.30pm Sunmudo (more action than the morning - ouch!)

9.00pm Go to room

10.00pm Lights out

Golgusa has been around since the 6th century. It's extremely beautiful and very famous for having the only cave temple in Korea.

Look at that view!

The gorgeous temple dog that came up to chanting in the morning and is the calmest dog in the world.

On the first morning, during the early morning meditation, I was finding it extremely hard to stay awake - seriously, 5am, close your eyes and clear your mind? Out of the corner of my squinted eye, I saw two of the young boys that lived there sprawled on the carpet asleep. This made my sleep urges worse and I thought, Why can they do that when I can't? I brought my knees out of lotus position and rested my face in them. After the lights came on, one of the monks went up to the two boys and hit them 3 times each across the shoulder with a stick. For a moment I really thought I was next! I felt that awful school shiver as he walked past me. Okay, rule learned. Always keep meditating.

I learned a little later that kids (like the sleepy meditationers) are sent here when they are kicked out of school. For example, the cutest, youngest boy had thrown a hot drink in his teachers face. I could tell that these kids did not want to be here, but I also recognised that ratbag look in their eyes - so being led by extremely strict and disciplined monks is probably the best for them! Despite this, many foreigners and Koreans visit here for some time out (no discipline for us!)

There was only one weird thing that happened while I was there. During community service, this guy started slying around me. I could tell by his below the knee shorts and pulled up white tube socks he was Korean American. He spoke exactly like Napoleon Dynamite.

"Do you actually wanna be here? God I hate it here. I just want to leave. Do you have 1000 won? I need to escape...blah blah"

He told me that he was sent from California to Golgulsa by his parents.

"You're telling me you're 31 years old and your parents sent you here because you smoke too much weed?" Hah!

Anyway, whenever I was walking on my own, Napoleon would come up behind me, "Hey, do you have that 1000 won?" I eventually told him that I didn't and I only had enough to bus home.

"Congratulations on leaving this place."

Don't ruin my buzz dude!

On my last morning, I watched a sunmudo demonstration up at the temple, in the blazing sun. It was amazing- these guys have INCREDIBLE strength.

Three days and two nights later, I arrived back in Jinju - nil of any 'Eat, Pray, Love' moments. But apart from Napoleon Dynamite, it was a fantastic experience. I really enjoyed the 108 bows, as physically tiring as they were. I couldn't imagine living here for a long time, but many people do and foreigners often volunteer as English teachers. I definitely felt well fed, rested and very calm.

Namhae -> Jinju (courtesy of HanaTour)

2011-06-27T17:36:00.000+12:00

This is how we woke up. Namhae Hilton treated us very well!

We spent part of the morning at the beach, to get some extra shots for the HanaTour video. It was great to have a run around and the water was pretty warm despite the weather.

We've been getting pretty obsessed with jumping shots on this trip...

We then went to Geumsan Boriam temple. Taking a bus halfway...

...and walking up through the fog.

Below is a picture of the supposed spectacular view of the beach and then what we could see.

It was like somebody literally took an eraser and removed the view but I loved it. Temples have such a calming feeling anyway and with the fog settled amongst it, it was just breathtakingly mysterious.

There were some great characters throughout the mist.

We then continued to our last stop: JINJU! Home of the spectacular Kerri! We settled in for a delicious Galbi lunch. Oh my goodness, looking at this picture now makes my mouth water...I had to eat as fast as possible because I had decided to bus over to Gyeongju to stay at Golgulsa Temple for a few nights.

This three day HanaTour was absolutely amazing. What a lovely group of exciting creatives and super knowledgeable guides to travel with! Also, it was nice not to worry about food or accommodation, where we were going or how we were getting there for a few days and just go with the flow. Thank you HanaTour!

This trip was completely sponsored by HanaTour Korea. They are an amazing company that provide many different tours aimed at foreign tourists that showcase the best Korea has to offer. You are provided a friendly, knowlegeable and personable guide leading you the whole way plus travel, food and accommodation. If you only have a short time in Korea or you are not confident in traveling without speaking Korean this is a great option. I think one of the best things about Hana Tour is that they only need minimum 1 person for the tour to go ahead.

Mokpo -> Namhae (courtesy of HanaTour)

2011-06-26T12:53:00.000+12:00

I woke up just like this:

And the documentation begins!

The day was filled with brilliant typhoon weather. After breakfast we went to Boseong Dawon Green Tea Plantation, which is the largest in Korea. Also, many soap operas and movies are filmed here...I can just see it - a big pash among the plants, a proposal among the plants, a break up among the plants...
The wind was extraordinary but it wasn't that rainy or cold at all so I enjoyed it. The fog had settled right over the plantation, so it was so mysterious.

The typhoon was so strong that I got a dead brelly! But, Hyunwoo and I made the most of it.

Then of course we had some green tea and also green tea ice cream. The most delicious I've ever tried of both!

We then went to Naganeupseong Folk Village, a community of 100 houses that are situated inside a fortress and it has the best conservation of the fortress of the Joseon Era today. It's so interesting because the government made this a historic site but descendents of the original dwellers still live here. You can stay here with a family (which would be amazing!) but I do wonder how the citizens feel about living in a fish bowl. Despite this, it's an incredibly beautiful and self sufficient community. The gardens are amazing, there are many animals happily walking around and the traditional thatched roofs are changed every year and a half.

I bought a ceramic vase here, which is probably the LAST thing that is needed to carry on a walking journey but.....

We then had an incredible lunch of really salty fish at this foreigner friendly restaurant.

The last trip of the day was to Suncheon Bay Ecological Park. I loved, loved walking through the long grass (in which many crabs live.) We walked for about a hour through the park and up the hill to see a stunning view.

Again, I am mesmerized by the constant greenery Korea has to offer. There are just the most beautiful places to visit with fantastic outdoor activities that you can constantly discover. Kerri and I both agree that Seoul can suck you into a vortex as there is ALWAYS something to do. When I lived here, leaving Seoul meant giving up really fun activities with my friends but it's so great getting some fresh air and not being absorbed by shopping and sangria from Venus Kitchen!

So after a beautiful day outside we checked into the Namhae Hilton Golf and Spa Resort.
Ummm check out our room and apartment. My bed was like a marshmellow:

And feast your eyes on dinner:

And the swimming pool:

(There was also a rabbit family and a cat family that lived outside. Eeek!)

AND you are very lucky that we could photograph the spa as there was no one else in there. Kerri and I pretty much had the shower of the year complete with luxurious shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face wash.

This trip was completely sponsored by HanaTour Korea. They are an amazing company that provide many different tours aimed at foreign tourists that showcase the best Korea has to offer. You are provided a friendly, knowlegeable and personable guide leading you the whole way plus travel, food and accommodation. If you only have a short time in Korea or you are not confident in traveling without speaking Korean this is a great option. I think one of the best things about Hana Tour is that they only need minimum 1 person for the tour to go ahead.

Jeonju -> Mokpo (courtesy of HanaTour)

2011-06-26T10:40:00.007+12:00

About a month before leaving for Korea, Kerri was asked by her friend and fellow youtuber Hyunwoo if she would like to go on a 3 day luxury Discover Korea experience with HanaTour Company. She asked if her photographer friend could come also and they said yes!

The aim of the HanaTour was to take 4 people away who would document the Discover Korea tour (3 youtubers - Kerri, Hyunwoo and Steve, all with huge followings and me as a photographer) and also 2 competition winners Clara and Jamie. Then, they would use footage and photos for promotion.

Here we are in Hyunwoo's first video:

Hyunwoo and Steve are completely connected to the web at all times, it was amazing to watch them literally load up what we were doing as it was happening.

Here's our guide Billy! Also joining us was a camera man and Jason who deals with foreigner tours for HanaTour.

We started off by traveling to Jeonju and stopping off at the Hanji Paper Museum. I haven't made paper since primary school (sidenote: remember marbling?!) so I found this really fun. Also, Hanji Paper Museum are working hard to develop this paper usage in eco friendly and sustainable ways.

We then went around the corner to Jeonju Hanok Village to make bibimbap! We used a lot more fancy ingredients than I am used to and I learned some great tips in chopping the vegetables also, how to make it without using every pan, pot and bowl in the kitchen.
This area is well known for using raw beef and egg in their bibimbap. This is something I would usually avoid, but I thought When in Jeonju... and went for it. It was very delicious and my stomach handled it well.

We finished off lunch with some delicious tea.

A common sight:

I managed to capture this woman who is a perfect example of a small town ajumma. Perm, polyester, mixed prints, handbag and a look of "Don't mess with me, I've been through it all." I love it.

We then drove down to Mokpo to watch a traditional performance. I really enjoyed this despite it all being in Korean and I had Jason next to me whispering explanations. Because it was the 25th June, exactly 61 years since the start of the Korean war they started off with an extra funeral dance. It was so, so beautiful and moving. The white hanboks were stunning.
The show continued with an amazing bird performance, a comedy opera and drumming. These guys went all out on a huge cast and fabulous costumes - I'm so glad I got to see it.

Next off was a Japanese sushimi restaurant (I don't think I ate any cooked meat today?) It was completely delicious and just when I thought I couldn't eat any more, they would bring out more food.

Then we casually checked into the five star Hotel Hyundai.

You know I love a good love motel, but this was on another level.

This trip was completely sponsored by HanaTour Korea. They are an amazing company that provide many different tours aimed at foreign tourists that showcase the best Korea has to offer. You are provided a friendly, knowlegeable and personable guide leading you the whole way plus travel, food and accommodation. If you only have a short time in Korea or you are not confident in traveling without speaking Korean this is a great option. I think one of the best things about Hana Tour is that they only need minimum 1 person for the tour to go ahead.

Gimchae -> Seoul

2011-06-25T02:15:00.000+12:00

We arrived in Gimjae absolutely exhausted. Our muscles were definitely stretched from our walking. We found a cafe and literally sat doing nothing for a few hours, trying to get our breath back and waddled like halmonis to a taxi to get a motel.
In every Korean city, big or small, there is a cluster of motels - usually used for a "rest" (sexy time) or sleep (our deal.) So that's why it is so easy here to travel without a plan. There are always motels because there are always people taking a "rest." The signs below cover your car's number plate in case the person you are resting with happens to be a secret.

Usually a room is around $30ish NZ dollars for a bed and a bathroom, so for $15 each, it's so cheap to travel.
Gimjae's motel area was actually a little out of the main part of Gimjae. We chose "Hite" out of the 6 or so available. This one was $25 with internet and cable. It also had the best interior decoration so far:

We ordered food to our room and I literally didn't move until the morning. I indulged in my old past time of the On Style channel.

In the morning, the rainy season had definitely settled in Gimjae. We made a small effort to visit a temple close by (with an extremely over zealous guard dog.)

But, I think between the rain, my broken umbrella and our very sore muscles our hearts weren't and we just wanted to jump on a bus to Seoul.
Missing the bus by 5 minutes we went back to our spot at the cafe until the next one. I love how here you can sit on one coffee for 3 hours and the staff don't mind!

So a 3 hour bus ride later, we were in my old favourite Hongdae. We met with Namcheol, who designed my tattoo and is one of the funniest Koreans I have ever met. He speaks zero English and is blatantly honest - telling me that he wasn't satisfied with my tattoo and he is different from what he drew, which it is actually a direct copy of his drawing. I just said "Too late!"
I also saw my amazing Sarah and Clair! We went to Venus Kitchen, ordered their fabulous sangria and nattered the evening away.

Videos for you!

2011-06-24T01:38:00.000+12:00

Buan

2011-06-24T01:11:00.010+12:00

Arriving in Buan around 3pm, we were so tired. We had had a long morning so popped into Lotteria for a greasy burger. They ended up having wi-fi so we squatted there for hours, I blogged and Kerri made a youtube video. No one seem to care that we'd made ourselves extremely comfortable there, one of the staff members even gave us a soft cone.

Here is our magnificent love motel for the night. It was actually quite fancy.

We spent the morning walking around the streets. One of the staff at Lotteria said she wanted to meet us at 12pm - we were umming and ahhing about this as the weather was perfect for walking forward but we didn't want to let her down.
So we pound the Buan streets.

Koreans seem to be able to made a garden out of nothing, here it's just a pile of dirt on the side of a fence.

We still had a few hours to kill, so we jumped in a taxi and he took us to this temple Gaeamsa. It was so peaceful - as always!

We chatted to a monk, who is one of six living here and the woman below just looked so stunning with the mountains and the temple behind her, "But I'm wearing my apron!"

We started walking down from the temple, which seem to have the nicest walks so far.

The park ranger was quite a funny man and he drove us down the hill to the bus stop. This area of Buan has stunning lakes and rice fields and is just so green.

At the bus stop we met the CUTEST man in the world. I still can't get over his adorable smile. One of the most common questions we've been getting is how did Kerri and I meet as we are from NZ and Canada. He asked us this also. We all got on the bus together and he just grinned at us the whole way.

We had lunch with the sweetheart Lotteria lady. It was good preparation for the following few hours.

We decided to walk to Gimjae, there was never a boring bit - beautiful rice fields and the occasional person.

We learned how rice plants were planted. One thing I never knew! The machine in the picture just deposited what looks like grass in the very watery soil.

We arrived on the outskirts on Gimjae...so tired!

And then a miracle happened, a bus came along the tiny street we were on and we immediately jumped on it. Weary legs rested.

Gochang

2011-06-22T01:21:00.001+12:00

We drove through many windy roads to get to Gochang, it felt a bit like the roads around Central Otago. Gochang is a very small country town by Korean standards - it still has 70,000 people. When we arrived it was very clear foreign travelers don't come very often.

Also, directly outside of our love motel - a young boy with a perm just peed on the street and no one around us blinked an eye. (I don't think this has anything to do with being in a country town as I've seen this in Seoul.)

Anyway, speaking of our love motel. It was charmingly dingy, just the way I like it.

We ditched our bags and wandered the streets. The graffiti was bad ass:

After an early night and a relaxing evening of kimbap and plum wine, we woke up to this:

It was raining the biggest, fattest raindrops that came in all directions. We didn't let this get us down however and taxied up to Munsusa Temple. On the map it looked very close to the central part of Gochang but we weaved up the mountainside for about 30 minutes.
Walking around the temples was lovely in the rain. There was not a soul to be seen (even when I set off an alarm) and we sat amongst the gorillas in the mist listening to the wind chimes blow from the super old temple.
This building has been here since 643AD.

Everything was closed up so we had to peer through the cracks of the doors to see the beautiful shrine inside.

By the time we finished looking around, the rain calmed right down so we just started walking.

We stopped past some very, very old farmers working. They were adorable and invited me down to take pictures. I didn't want to disturb their work too much so I didn't hang around for long.
And who knows what they were doing, they were pulling out a buzz saw when we were leaving.

Oh, but I managed to catch this lovely man up on the road. Straight after this we were offered a ride on the back of a truck full of smiling Koreans, but we turned it down as we had barely started walking and we wanted to see more of the countryside.

Walking, walking, walking we came up to some berry pickers who motioned for us to come down and eat some berries. So delicious!

Further down the road a man just pulled over, gave us some berry juice and drove off! It was delicious!

More walking...the misty hills were so green! Koreans always tell me that they come to New Zealand because it is so green and spacious, but this landscape is just as green and spacious - absolutely beautiful.

We then were offered a few rides...

This guy (a Pastor) picked us up just as we started looking for a bus to get us to the centre of Gochang, "Where you go?" He told us he wanted to take us to a restaurant and then "Gochang's pride," a castle on the hillside.

He literally dropped us at the restaurant, paid and said he was sorry he had to go as he had to meet his father but to have a nice time in Gochang. What the heck?! Where does all this amazing generosity come from?!! Our lunch was delicious!

We then took the Pastor's advice and went up to the Gochangeupseong Fortress which was built in 1453 as an office during the occupation of Japan in the Joseon era.

Oooh and here is a cute, cute man who was sitting and enjoying the view of Gochang.

Back in town, we jump on the bus to continue north to Buan. The bus driver tells us his life story while playing Mariah Carey and Berlin.
It starts raining torrentially again. Our day has worked out perfectly with the weather and bodies definitely need the excuse for a rest.

Gwangju

2011-06-21T20:00:00.000+12:00

Ugly shoes on...

...and we're off!

We get off the bus in Gwangju and as a security guard where north is. It kinda went like this:
"Where is north?"
"Where are you going?"
"Seoul"
"The bus station is here" (Where we just came from)
"We are walking to Seoul"
"Ugghhhh?!!"
Kerri pats her legs.
"Your legs are sore?"
"No, we are walking"
So, he points towards north and we start walking along the river, greeted by cheery waves. After about an hour we decide to check our direction with an adjosshi.
"Where is north?"
He points in the direction we just came from. Uh oh. We need a compass.

We find a business with a huge map of Gwangju in it. We tell the owner we are walking, he tells us we are crazy. We decide to take a taxi to the top of Gwangju so we don't spend 4 days walking around in circles around the city.
This was a moment where fate happened and led us to have an amazing day. All because of this fantastic taxi driver. He started to drive us to the Gawngju Memorial and we told him our plans as we are driving. He thinks we are really, really crazy but is really interested in why we are in Gwangju and wanted to visited the memorial. (Side note: It is AMAZING traveling with Kerri - her Korean is actually getting us through this trip.)

Pulling up at the memorial, we all get out of the car and the taxi driver looks at our map - there is also an older married couple there and they all collectively talk about how crazy we are. "Take the bus", the woman says, "You can be in Seoul by tonight!"
The taxi driver tells us to look around the memorial and he will wait for us.

In 1980, Gwangju had a huge, horrific political incident that lead to the massacre of almost 5000 civilians. The civilians of Gwangju rose up against the military dictatorship but were squashed by the South Korean Army.
There were 4 major incidents over 7 days:
- Student riots
- Troops reaction
- Gwangju City rebellion
- Official revenge
You can read more about it here.

This is the Mangwol-dong cemetery.

This memorial is absolutely stunning. It is so large and while we were there, completely void of people except for a few gardeners. The gravestones with photos of the murdered were absolutely heartbreaking - most of the civilians were so young and all the graves have the same dates. Such a waste. Kerri translated a sign as, "Hold the memory of each lonely death as your observe these photos." And this is what we did.

We came back to the car and our driver was waiting for us with cold water. He wanted to take us to another place and we were easy with that (the meter was well turned off by now.) We drove up to an amazing ancient garden called Seosewan. It was completely surrounded in bamboo and is where scholars and poets came to study 1500 years ago.
Taxi man bought us some fans and came for the walk with us.

We sat under a traditional shelter where this adorable guide told us about the area.

A group of adjummas joined us and we all sat around listening (well, I didn't understand but it was okay) and it was so peaceful, quiet and welcoming. I felt so comfortable.

We told our taxi driver we to buy him a meal. So we had some incredible boribap in a restaurant nestled in a hill and some coffee. He would not let us pay and there was nothing we could do.

At 5pm we were dropped off where we started but we had the most amazing, unexpected afternoon which is exactly what this trip is about. I can not believe how generous this man was with his time and it seems like his only motivation was to show how proud he was of Gwangju. Our hearts are filled with booming warmth at the moment and it is just the beginning!

The next stop is Gochang, which is an hour north. That is all we know.

Jinju

2011-06-20T19:19:00.000+12:00

When I got off the bus at Jinju on Sunday night, a Korean man came up to me, "Jenna?!" It was Kerri's boyfriend Yoonsik and he recognised me from my picture. We found Kerri (yay!) and it was like I'd only seen her the week before.
We ate some barley rice bibimbap and went to Umbrella Bar - it had instruments ready to be played and the owner pulled out some amazing guitar skills. They only served beer or Jack Daniels. I went for the rum.

The first two days in Korea were nice and cool but Jinju is extremely hot and it's making me very sleepy, but I just need some season adjustment. I found an adorable cafe that also doubles as a ceramic hand painting venue to hang out in while Kerri finished off some things at work.

Jinju is right down the bottom of South Korea. Kerri tells me a lot of people retire here and you can definitely tell.

In the evening we called the English bus information hotline to see what time the bus went from Jinju to Mokpo and were informed it only went twice a day! You may think why we didn't check this earlier - but usually this is not the case and it's very easy to turn up to the bus station and have a bus to wherever you want to go turn up. We immediately had a change of plan, we would go to Gwangju in the morning instead of Mokpo, easy peasy.

I spent the evening watching Kerri and Yoonsik busk together. It was very sweet! They even have couple guitar cases...

We definitely not feeling stressed about time, taking everything as it comes. So, Gwangju tomorrow!

Busan

2011-06-19T17:43:00.008+12:00

Landing back in Korea was great. Everything was so comfortable and familiar, unlike when I arrived two and a half years ago! I knew what to look for in terms of an ATM, convenience store, pay phone and taxi, so getting to Matt and Anne’s apartment was a breeze.

Matt and Anne are old Dunedin and art school friends of mine. While they went to work I caught up with my old co-worker Abigail and her spanking new husband. They took me to Haeundai Beach and we shot the breeze over coffee.

I then met with Matt and Anne at Gwang-gan Beach and we drank soju and watched all the people go by.

As the sun went down, the sky turned the most beautiful colour and the bridge lights lit up – it was so relaxing and the perfect way to spend my first day here.

We had an early night and first thing on Sunday morning I went to the optometrist. I had been surviving on some manky as contacts for the last month, having had broken both pairs of my glasses. For $120 I got an eye test, new frames, lenses and contacts – ready in 10 minutes. I actually paid a lot more that I did in Wong Dang, but I think I was charged Busan’s big city prices! Now I can see so well that it’s actually making me feel a little ill.

So I’m heading north to Jinju tonight (1 hour 20 minute bus ride) to meet with the beautiful Kerri. Then we’re heading west to Mokpo to start our walking adventure. Eeeeeee!

Stopover

2011-06-17T12:27:00.001+12:00

My trip to Korea got off to a rocky start. Not in a really bad way but in a "Oooh this is fun, but I really want to get going" sort of way.
Amazing Stu dropped me at the Auckland airport at 4am, I was seated on the plane and was about to watch the cringe worthy, rugby worshipping safety video when one of the computers in the plane failed. The Social Network and halfway through the book The Amateur Science of Love later we were off to Melbourne.
My connection to Vietnam had well gone so I was put up in the Park Royal and booked in the next days flights. I enjoyed lounging in my white robe, bathing and watching some fantastically trashy Australian TV.

I managed to source Jenna-Lee and Erin's cell phone numbers so met them in the city. I was completely unprepared for the Southern Hemisphere weather so luckily Jenna-Lee could bring me a scarf and jacket. We got a photobooth picture (a dream completed)

and had G&T's at a bar in a graffitied alleyway. The perfect, unexpected evening.
The next morning, I flew to Ho Chi Minh city. It was amazing landing in Vietnam. Spirals of brown rivers through patchworked landscapes, leading to pastel coloured houses that were stacked like a pile of boxes and then closer, hundreds of scooters zipping down the street. Sadly, I could not leave the airport on my stopover. I immediately dropped $47USD on a pedicure, manicure, facial and hairwash. With the worst blow dried style you can imagine (think, helmet) I very slowly ate a meal in a restaurant.

A nap, a podcast and some of Lady Chatterley's Lover later I was on the plane to Busan.
I was the only Westerner and the lounge was full of drunk, casually dressed adjosshis. On the transfer bus, I stepped over a huge pile of vomit while an adjosshi positioned his body to face me and blatantly stared for 10 minutes until we pulled up to the plane. Welcome to Korea.

kittenlicious

2011-06-15T12:13:00.000+12:00

Our new little darlings have settled right into the Burnley lifestyle.
A bit of dancing...

...and belly scratching.

Feargal is just dying to get to the outside world, but of course his little balls (see picture above) prevent his from so. Lonely Miaow like us to do this to combat breeding but also if we keep their environment small, then they will get less confused when they are adopted. Feargals's balls should come off in the next week or so. Midget Molly has a bit more growing to do.

craftaculor week

2011-06-10T16:31:00.005+12:00

I HAVE FINISHED MY GRANNY SQUARES!

I've been madly sewing them together before I leave and have just managed a third. That photo has to wait for later.

In Auckland we have inorganic collections. This is truly amazing, as every house puts every scrap of crap that is in their house on the street people rummage through the crap and then the leftovers are picked up by the council after the weekend. It is so hilarious watching vans and mini trucks slowly driving up and down the streets, with all occupants with their heads out the windows, while the backs are filled with mountains of broken bikes, furniture and old TV's.
Of course I went for a squiz, as I had been on the look out for dining room chairs and I found a set of 6! I have just been sanding them down, will stain them this weekend and coat them in polyurethane (also found on the side of the road.) Then I will replace the sponge and recover them in some spectaculor fabric.

I also have got my feijoa and apple cider on. Stu does not have a good feeling about it as it hasn't started fermenting. I actually broke the juicer because I juiced too many feijoas, so my last few litres of apples were topped up with seemingly pure apple juice from the supermarket. Unfortunately, it might have had preservatives which bung up the fermentation.
My dreams of a post Korea, high sugared cider party might be over! Oh no! (I know this isn't really craftaculor, but I'm putting it in the same boat.)

Book Stuff

2011-06-06T15:12:00.000+12:00

A few weeks ago was the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival. I only made it to two events but they were both great.

We went to the Langham Hotel for an afternoon High Tea and food writers talk. I stuffed myself silly with many cakes and sandwiches. Holy! The pistachio lamington was particularly delightful.

(please excuse cruddy photos.)

A.A. Gill was the special guest speaker and he was charmingly cheeky and funny. I especially liked when he talked about being in a vegetarian boarding school meant he had perfectly formed poo.

On the Sunday I went to David Vann's talk. He has written my favourite book so far for this year - Caribou Island. It's wonderfully dark - set in the looming landscape of Alaska and only to be read under the warmth of your duvet. It reminded me of We Need to Talk About Kevin, you know it isn't going to end happily and by golly it didn't.

The other amazing book I have read this year is the Pulitzer winner, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. She is a genius with time lines and characters of all ages in whatever decade. One chapter is a slide show, a slide show and she still rocks it. Ahhh reading - I am having big holiday read dilemmas...but at least that is all I have to worry about.

a week with dad

2011-06-04T18:31:00.001+12:00

My Dad came up to Auckland to do the Sky Tower Challenge. This is when firemen from all over New Zealand run up 51 flights in full kit, as fast as they can, to raise money for leukemia.

Here's Dad just after he finished - he was very tired.

He then stayed for a week afterwards. We went to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World.

Keeping with the animal theme, we also went to Auckland Zoo. My favourite animals were the spider monkeys and Dad, the otters.

We also went to my new favourite restaurant - Cazador. It is a game restaurant with taxidermy all over the walls. Stu and I had only been a few days before but we had to come back with Dad. I was too busy eating to take pictures. The first time I had wild pork and the second, walnut and pomegranate venison meatballs. I even got me some pomegranate molasses so I could recreate this delicious Persian sauce.

I also introduced Dad to Korean food, which I think for him was life changing. He couldn't get enough - which made me happy because I could eat Korean every day!

three quarters done + books + animals

2011-06-02T11:20:00.008+12:00

I don't think I will get this done before I leave for Korea unfortunately, though I am crocheting like mad!

I am also trying to get a few books read before I leave and that can bite into my crochet time.

We have started a new book club and we are reading "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut. We're going to the Popular Penguins because they are so cheap and awesome. I'm also trying to read "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell - it is rad but slow going, I keep having to take breaks.

Another thing that is distracting me is our new fleet of kittens.

We very sadly said goodbye to Alvin (pictured above in new kitten bliss) last week, he has gone to an amazing new home. But meet our little grey girl Molly and Feargal Sharkey. And yes, Feargal is named after this amazing singer:

We also had to say goodbye to our amazing friends and egg machines, Rhubarb and Sasquatch. Our landlord is not keen on them - which is stupid and I can rant about it but I won't. He still doesn't know about our wee ones pictured above though. hehehe!

recent picture taking

2011-05-27T08:57:00.009+12:00

I have to play a big catch up on my blog - so I might lump a few blogs together in one, then it is much easier. I have had a few photography jobs come up recently which has been very fun. I've photographed mostly people, some fruit and some bands.

Tono need a new promo shot for a BFM gig, so we took this. Because his Finance Company changes a bit, it was easier to keep them to Hans Solo and Theodore Roosevelt.

Here's a cool video of Tono and the Finance Company.

Then, Miss Hannah Curwood needed some promo pictures to take with her to the UK. We sequined a horse, chucked on some glitter and spent a lovely afternoon out East. It's quite nice having a horse lick your cheek while you're shooting.

This is my favourite of the many:

And Hannah and I both like the creepy factor of this one:

Paquin has just released their E.P. and their first gig is coming up in June. I newspapered my living room and (very carefully) placed them on the couch.

There are also some sweet shots where the wee kitten Alvin got amongst the papery domesticity.

And here is Simon Comber playing live at Golden Dawn in Ponsonby. Best stage ever! You can listen/download his sweet tunes here.

sad blog

2011-05-23T08:28:00.001+12:00

Hello friends,

My computer was stolen last week by a bad, bad robber who came in while we were sleeping. Anyway so I have a few blogs to catch up on. My new computer should come this week and then I will have some time to blog and post pictures.

XXX

Paquin

2011-05-12T20:00:00.000+12:00

I just drew this cover art for my friend Tom Healy's new band Paquin. I think the music is rad and you can listen to it here.

Crafternoon Tea

2011-05-08T21:26:00.004+12:00

I hosted my first crafternoon tea today. It was mainly an excuse to be able to use all my lovely things from Mrs. Moore AND so I could make this amazing butterscotch rhubarb cake.

It's two vanilla and rhubarb cakes cut into two, with a caramel cream cheese icing in the layers along with more baked rhubarb.

My darling friends made lemon meringue tarts and delicious banana healthy biscuits. Somehow two bottles of wine were also bought over too!

HALFWAY!

2011-05-04T21:23:00.000+12:00

Mrs. Moore's House

2011-04-26T08:49:00.000+12:00

My Uncle took me to this house that he has been renovating, it is so sad to this that this amazing wallpaper is going to go!

Mrs Moore died about 5 years ago and now her things are being cleared out so the rest of the house can be painted. I was very lucky to be able to pick out a few things to take home. By a few I mean about 20kgs that I dragged back up to Auckland the next day, I got some amazing coats, linen, slips, tea cups and a painting.

Thank you Mrs. Moore - I will keep your things well used and loved!

rice and beans

2011-04-25T08:47:00.000+12:00

On a very crispy and sunny Dunedin day, I stopped into Rice and Beans to see Claire and her lovely new art space.

She was taking a rest between shows.

Grandad's 70th Birthday

2011-04-24T22:28:00.001+12:00

It's not very often we all get together (and even this time some were missing) but it was great to go home to Dunedin for Easter and for Grandad's birthday. I even got to get my Rock'n'Roll on !

Ugly Shoes

2011-04-23T18:58:00.000+12:00

Well, in just a mere 7 weeks I will be back in Korea ready to walk my bum off with the lovely Kerri. Unfortunately, sensible walking shoes don't come in vintage - so I had to break and buy some ugly purple and grey woppers from the sports store on the corner of my street. The thing is, they are actually the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, it's like walking on air!

One obstacle Kerri and I have both found is when asking a Korean about help with directions, distances and other useful information, we are told the same answer, "Take a bus." It seems most people are worried about how tired we will get! Which is sweet, but not ideal.

I've been building my fitness over the last few months also. Getting up at 6am(!) to swim three times a week and going for long walks. It's still going to be a struggle, but a exciting one!

Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-22T15:23:00.005+12:00

I had tried to make some Hot Cross Buns earlier in the week, but they were duds. Turns out I should paid attention to the expiration date on the yeast.

The chickens were happy though!

So today (Easter Friday) after buying new yeast I made a successful batch, slightly charred but they had risen well.

I also know the real reason why they put crosses on the buns. I tried to make mine with non religious imagery (re: top right bun) but it seems crosses are the easiest to squeeze on.

100!

2011-04-14T23:04:00.000+12:00

Feijoa Chutney

2011-04-13T21:58:00.003+12:00

I'm in a bit of a feijoa conundrum at the moment. Stu and I are making some feijoa and apple cider - and I am in charge of the fruit. I put the call out and indeed, bags of feijoas were coming to my door. I juiced so many that I broke the juicer! So now I have two bags of feijoas that need to be dealt with immediately.

Luckily, I found this recipe for a spicy feijoa chutney. It has a kick, but is mightily delicious. I think you could almost eat it with anything but they are especially good with my friend Rachel's home made pita pockets.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons of brown sugar in the juice of 1 lime. Add:

8 freshly diced feijoas

1/2 cup of capsicum

1 diced clove of garlic

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp fresh coriander

2 tsp red onion

I used the coriander, lime and capsicum from the garden and the feijoas are from a combination of Tom and Kate's trees. Fabulous!

Greenery with a touch of morange.

2011-04-07T16:19:00.002+12:00

Jenna-Lee took this seemingly planned but actually impromptu photo of Sasquatch and I. My new MAC 'Morange' lipstick is definitely standing out against all that green.

All in a days work...

2011-04-05T23:09:00.001+12:00

Guess which book character I am?

Being Peter Rabbit was very, very hot and very, very heavy. However, I had not received this many hugs since we had Free Hugs in Seoul - which was lovely!

Jenna Todd and Jenna-Lee Reunited.

2011-04-04T16:15:00.000+12:00

Last weekend, my dear friend Jenna-Lee was over from Melbourne. This was so exciting because I had not seen her for THREE years. Which is far too long. We were a double Jenna photography team, studying side by side all through art school. We have a mutual love/obsession for Rocky Horror, Patti Smith and all things 80's.
Joined by Fiona, Rose and Harriet, we ate some basil tomato pasta and rhubarb and feojoa crumble and then started making plans for a night out at karaoke and dancing. But what happened? We got very drunk and danced in my living room until 3am. And that was just fine with us. Most of the photos are on Jenna-Lee's camera...but I have a couple on mine.

Nana and Crochet

2011-04-02T15:05:00.000+13:00

Recently, my Nana came over from Australia for a week and it was lovely. Here she is with Jake after we ate a delicious Korean lunch (her first Korean experience!)

I taught Nana how to aqua jog (I've been doing this 3 times a week in preparation for my walk) and most exciting of all, Nana taught me to crochet!
For my first project, I have decided to make a spring coloured blanket. It will be made of FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO squares. I have so far made 35. I will get there though, just thinking of the finished project keeps me motivated.

Paneer Curry and Honey and Mint Cake

2011-03-28T09:06:00.002+13:00

Stu's garden has been flourishing with red and green chillies recently, so I got my curry on for Sunday dinner.

Have you ever made paneer? I will never get over how easy it is. Just 1 litre of milk slowly brought to the boil and then add in 30mls of lemon juice. Strain the curdled milk through a muslin cloth inside a sieve, flatten and let sit for a few hours.

I made curry with paneer, mushrooms and peas (green chilli) and a side dish of cabbage, carrot and onion (red chilli.) Overall the meal was quite sour and not very colourful, but still delicious and spicy.

And onto dessert...

I've been meaning to make this recipe for Morrocan honey and mint cake for ages. A regular customer at the bookstore brought it

in for us and I promptly found the recipe - it is so fantastically minty. The recipe was found on the Cuisine website. I don't think my version was dense enough, however still very edible!

Justin Townes Earle

2011-03-27T15:05:00.007+13:00

What a freakin' dream boat.

These were my favourite moments of the concert:

- "This song is about two of my favourite things, young women and fried chicken."

- He was talking about a "country bitch" ex and then said, "When you quit smoking crack, you quit meeting crazy people."

- Someone right in the front fainted. He stopped playing and squinting, leaned over into the audience and said, "Is he alright?"

of course all in a fabulous Southern American accent.

...Wow, I see this written down it's quite misogynistic...but it didn't seem like it at the time.

Also, I loved when he played this song.

Here's a good RUSSH interview with him.

Summer Series in Print

2011-03-21T18:12:00.001+13:00

From the Groove Guide last Wednesday.