so i finally get internet, cable tv, and a cell phone.. cable tv is $5 and you get 75 channels including about six english ones like cnn international, discovery channel, and a couple of old movie channels. i'm so used to not watching tv and i dont have a remote so i keep forgetting to turn the tv on now! actually a good website is www.livestation.com which has all the international news channels except american (bbc, euronews, DW german, france24, algezera english, RT russian, and some others) so i dont even need to turn my tv on, but for $5 might as well keep cable.

i get my first electric bill going back to august 1 when i didnt live here... it was $9!!!! my co-teacher told me not to pay it and to get the landlord to pay his share for the prior month. i'm thinking its only $9, just pay it and build some goodwill with the landlord for the next time we need him... also, my co-teacher was reluctant to tell me the cost of internet as she thought i might find it very expensive... its $30 for unlimited high speed access.. so i told her, back home i pay $120 with rogers for digital cable and internet combined. we have a monthly upload limit and they throttle the bandwidth when you are downloading. she was shocked and said she had never heard of this in korea and i'm getting speeds i've never seen on rogers!!

next i get the cheapest cell phone plan coz i'm not a heavy user. so i pay $10 a month and calls and messages are extra. but they only cost .10 cents per minute or .2 cents per text message. there is one flat rate all across korea so no local and long distance charges. also no time of day restrictions like we had back home. so my monthly bill should be coming in under $15! and i get a brand new free camera phone. i'm not a cellphone whiz but i think its an mp3 player, you can watch movies, play games, check email, and video to video chat. people in toronto know my cell was always switched off!

so once i get my gadgets sorted saturday decide to head down to mount apsen at the south end of the city. the map said there was a cable car to goto the top.. well the map was partly wrong... there are two sides to climb the mountain, and i went the wrong way coz it was not clearly marked. so i walk up a steep paved trail for about 20 mins and come to a temple complex. after that, the trail ends and you have to start climbing a rock trail. so i carry on going not knowing how far it was. i think the signs said 2km to the top but this is not walking, this is climbing up a rock trail on a mountain. in places i had to go on all fours.

so after a while i decide this was not a good idea but i was not in a position to do anything. either climb all the way to the top and take the cable car down, or climb back down all the rocks the way i came. so i carry on climbing and the trail just seems to continue and never end. its getting close to 6pm and i dont want to be stuck up here or worse trying to climb down in the dark. luckily i make it to the top and a short walk was the cable car. the temperature is cooler and not humid, and it was a clear day so a very good view with no haze.

the cable car took 3 mins to go down and i wish i had known about that before. next time it would be good to go before sundown and see the lights coming on like i had done on a mountaintop in sarajevo. also at the bottom, there was another temple complex. this time a monk was chanting and tapping on a drum. also there was a war memorial museum which was closed at this time but still lots of monuments outside. there was an old fortress nearby but i'll leave that for another day.

it was a good workout and now i know what to expect on these mountain climbs, as there are a lot of them here! also there are three videos on my youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/londone73#g /u

this week we have a three day holiday and the school is closed friday as well so i get four days. they were handing out gifts in the teachers room. i thought it was some kind of dessert but it was artistically shaped soap so good job i didnt bite! also i find out i am not getting paid before the holiday like i am supposed to, but next monday, so will be living off my credit card in seoul!.. fun!

my seoul trip is going to be extended. i planned on going tues and coming back friday, but because of the holiday season the only day i can get a trip to the north korea border is saturday. you have to book these trips ahead of time and because of the restricted days and busy holiday demand friday is sold out. also, you have to bring your passport and there is a civilian dress code in effect because this is a restricted military zone so no jeans, flip flops, and other restricted items. i found a nice b&b that has been heavily featured in the media in downtown seoul.

so its already been ONE MONTH in korea, so much has happened, and i'm having so much fun !!!

next week.. seoul
royal palaces
suwon folk village
electronics shopping
iteawon mosque and arab street
demilitarized zone and joint security area