A Warm yet Snowy Xmas.

Well, it wasn't quite a White Christmas but the morning of the 24th me, my gf and friend Ariel headed East to the city of Wonju. It was a pretty flat city and didn't seem to have much character compared to the city of Seoul or even Anyang and Yeosu (down south) where I visited. But not to worry, didn't go to Wonju for the city itself...we jumped on a bus within 30 minutes of arriving in the city up to the local ski mountain! Snowbaording on new years eve sounds good to me!

We didn't really plan the trip well though as we got there as the afternoon session was closing and waited 3 hours until the evening ski started. They shut the mountain down for 2 hours three during throughout the day I guess to make more snow and get the runs ready. So, after a good wait me and my buddy Ariel rented snowboards and got our lift tickets to go. You notice I said only me and Ariel, my gf spent the day in the spa as she doesn't like the cold and snow and his buddy who lives in Wonju had a hurt ankle from the week before.

The boarding itself was quite reasonanble. Not as big as YeongPyeong where i went last year and of course it doesn't even compare to the shadow od Whistler or even Cypress for that matter. But not to worry, I went for a little fun and relaxing not hard riding.

The snow was decent and the lines weren't all that bad, maybe 15 minute wait at most. That night went out for some yummy chicken BBQ and soju to celebrate the arrival of Xmas day.

On Xmas day itself we woke up and had some bread and coffee at the local Dunkin' Donuts (the closest comparable thing to Tim Horton's but without the yummy French Vanilla Cap.). Got a bus which took about 3 hours to get back to Seoul as the traffic was heavy but made it back to get the end of a nice sunny day in Seoul.

Didn't really have any Xmas nights plan, but you know the best nights are those that are on a whim. So on the subway home I decide we should go to the local market and get some food at home. We should also invite one of Sungku's friends over for dinner and have a nice Xmas dinner. 'Course at the market Sungku buys clams and oysters for an Xmas dinner so I start wondering if a home cooked dinner was a good plan. Oysters and clams on Xmas (and with kimchi of course too)...yuck.

I dropped by the local butcher and picked myself up a nice duck. Yes..duck. If I can't have a roasted turkey, I'll have to settle for roast duck. 'Course the lack of an oven meant that I was going to be cooking it in a toaster oven which proved to be quite the experience.

The dinner itself was great. Sungku and her friend polished off a few bottles of wine and I stuck my to brews. Listened to some music and just chilled for the rest of the night and it was great.

So, I think my first Xmas away from the family was pretty successful and since I got to talk to everyone on the phone, I couldn't have asked more. Now the question is...what for New Years?

Hope everyones Xmas was good.

Colin