Blog 30 - 17th October

I have two different stories to report - one happy and one sad. The first three photos are of a photography class I attended, hosted by SIWA (Seoul International Women's Association) and led by professional fine art photographer Mihe Shin. Can you notice how my photography skills have improved? Here is the link http://www.siwapage.com Check out the amazing array of activities and events to cater for everyone!



We were guided around Buckon Dong, a traditional area with hanoks, old Korean houses, followed by a wonderful dinner at a modern Italian restaurant overlooking rooftops.

I have showed photos of traffic in previous posts, however this time it has more meaning as we have recently purchased a car. Hooray! Our lives have been transformed as we enjoy a new freedom. It is a 14 year old Hyundai with 223,000 kilometers on the clock. Damien's colleague offered it to us for AU$100 as an alternative to the wreckers. We have been successfully negotiating driving on the other side of the road (i.e. the right) and avoiding the 10 million crazy Seoul drivers. Until today!

We had planned a trip to the countryside and set off with map and provisions early Sunday morning to avoid the traffic. Here is our lovely car, broken down on the side of the road. We had planned to leave it and return tomorrow, however the police had other ideas! After a fruitless drive around the neighbourhood in the police car, searching for open car repair places, (us in the back seat with no handles on the doors!) the police kindly phoned our insurance company and in a few minutes the tow truck arrived. To add some fun and another layer of complexity, all these interactions were in Korean , however , the young policewoman had some English which was an amazing help.

And so we wait with baited breath to see the outcome after business opens tomorrow.

Repair work had just been completed on Friday by the Hyundai service center. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.