Seoul Racecourse Park

Off to the races!

Saturday we took a trip to Seoul Racecourse Park which can be found on subway line 4 (just follow the punters to the right exit and main gate).

This seems to be a popular pass time for Koreans based on the number of people at the races on Saturday. The racecourse is pretty impressive too. You can stay on the grandstand side or cross to the middle of the track where there is betting booths and a cafe and activities for the kids.

There are several betting books available and to me they looked pretty confusing....

I gave my friend 10,000 won to place a bet just for fun... she chose #1 and #7 for the 2pm race and guess what.... she won.... 167,500 won! 2 races later we repeated the same formula and... she won again! not as much this time but still that is impressive for the first time at the track... maybe next time I will give her all my money :)

So here is a little footage of the races:

There is also a museum and a small art gallery to look at while you are waiting for the next race to start...

There was also an appearance from the aerobatic team (I later found out that there was another air show on that weekend...)

We also took a trip to Seoul Grand Park... but I will keep that for another day :) (when its cold and horrible) :)

Here is a short video though:

Well until next week have a fantastic time :)

F1 Formula One Korea 2011 Saturday 15 October

Yeongnam was the destination of choice for this weekends F1 showcase.

Starting early we headed off to Mokpo on the KTX and then took a free shuttle bus to the event.

The KTX is quite a fantastic mode of transport. If you get the more spacious seats you can have a very comfortable ride with some service (free water and snacks) included. The train does not seem to be travelling all that fast but looking up at the screen we were pushing 270km/hr which is quite a good pace. We reached Mokpo in 3 hours.

So we arrived and lined up for another bus that took people around the event and dropped them off at the different seating areas. The day started with a mixed class race with I assume 1600 - 2L cars and V8's.

Then the qualifiers began with the F1 cars. I was surprised at how much the cars have changed in design (since I am not a huge F1 fan) since I had seen them last... which was a long time ago...

So it was quite exciting and very loud and a once in a lifetime experience.

I also have a bit of video I shot as well:

And what Korean event would be complete without a K-Pop concert!?.... Yes after the qualifiers there was a huge K-Pop show with a dozen or so acts including Brown Eyed Girls, 4 Minute and many others. I took a short clip of some of the acts but it took a long time to walk to the stage area so I didn't get all the acts :(

So after the event we had some delicious food and took the 3 hour KTX back to Seoul.

That's all for this week! See you again next week and have a good one yourself! :)

Taekwondo Black Belt, NZIE Teach Overseas Korea, Drum Cat

Finally after 3 months it was time to celebrate at the arrival of my Taekwondo Black Belt!!!

It was also a farewell to my "foreign" taekwondo friend Amanda who has now left Korea for other adventures around the world. I wish her and her boyfriend all the best for the future :)

So here is a picture of everybody at dinner last week:

Saturday I went with my friend to meet up with some New Zealand teachers at 3 Alleys Pub in Itaewon. Geoff and Mollie were there as well. It was great to see them and also strange as the last time I spoke to them I was in New Zealand preparing for my Korean adventure!

So if you are in New Zealand you can check out their facebook page and contact Geoff if you are interested in a Korean adventure of your own :)

http://www.facebook.com/TeachOverseasKorea

This could be a picture of you?....

Finally for the weekend we attended a fantastic performance called Drum Cat. Five Korean women playing drums and a cameo from a Korean violinist made for a fantastic night out with high energy and banging and thumping and dancing and clapping :)

We had the front row and I cant think of any place better to be to witness such a fantastic musical and visual display.

So here is a clip so you know what its all about (kindly uploaded by someone on youtube :)

The cats :)

Ok so that's it for this week but I hope to bring you something really exciting and special next week so until then have a great week! :)

Sailing on the Han River & Road FC 004 MMA

Yet another long weekend in Korea :)

Sunday lay a fantastic opportunity to go sailing on the Han river. Although it was a brisk day (and by brisk I mean a little chilly) it was just right for a bit or a spin on the Han.

3 boats went out with ours each with a different party of sailors. We spent an hour going up and down the Han and my friend had the opportunity to sail the boat herself and did a couple of doughnuts before managing to gain control of the vessel and sail up under the bridge and back toward port.

Here is the official web link if you fancy a late autumn / fall sail:

http://www.seoul-marina.com/index.vw --- Korean Version

http://en.seoul-marina.com/ --- English Version

After the sail we went to the restaurant right next door and had a fabulous Australian beef steak; the best steak I have had in Korea :)

Monday rolled around and as I mentioned last week there was another MMA event on so my friend and I, a colleague of mine, his girlfriend and a client went to see some blood and action!

Road FC 004 Young Guns.

The fights were fantastic with some real hardcore action. Blood was spilled and huge hits were seen so it was all good! :) Everyone enjoyed themselves although the women were a little taken aback by the violence :)

I took some video of some of the fights so if you are interested you can check them out! :)

Well another huge weekend over... on to the next one :) Have a great week in the meantime!