Too long in between...

OYE.  

I apologize for the gap between posts.  Since our vacation...life has just seemed boring haha.  I know, you're probably thinking...bored in KOREA.  How is that possible?  We are near rounding our third and final year here (around October time frame), and it is safe to say that we will be VERY ready to say our goodbyes to Korea.  I'm already getting excited about where our next possible duty station could be but we won't find that out for probably another 4-6 months :/.  Patience is virtue :o).

Things here have been good.  The weather has been extremely unusual for the summer.  We had heat indexes over 109 F (which I think they had said was the hottest consecutive days in 100 something years).  Not to mention the 70-90% humidity.  YUCK.  Typically we have a monsoon season but it seems to be hitting later this year, having rained quite a bit these last few weeks/days.  Nonetheless, we are ALL ready for Fall.  Air conditioning in Korea is a 'tower'..there are no vents, central air, or circulation of any type for that matter.  This gets tricky when it tends to be very sticky in your house, even causing food to become spoiled, soggy, and stale.  The air conditioner, which is SO incredibly weak and only works if you're standing within 15 ft. of it costs anywhere from $200-$1000/month, depending on how you use it.  YES, up to $1000!!  Fortunately the Army knows this and gives us utility allowance.  

I know I've already posted pictures of this I believe last year but here are a few shots a friend of mine took at the largest fish market in Seoul.  Around this time of year, it is pretty busy.  The warmer waters here bring in quite the amount of fish and seafood.  Believe it or not, out to Korea's West coast, China, North Korea, & South Korea all fish incredibly close to each other and often bicker because of 'crossing each other's lines'.  They have similar issues on the East Coast with Japan as well.  

So after long, careful consideration...Michael and I have decided to go on ONE more trip while we are over here.  It took a while to decide between Tokyo and yet another cruise.  We decided on the Asian cruise out of Singapore.  It goes from there to Malaysia, then to Thailand, and back to Singapore.  So, it's short but we figured it'd be kind of sad if we didn't see any of the orient before leaving next year.  I've traveled to Japan for work but he hasn't so we are still a little bummed about not getting to go to Tokyo but vacation schedules just won't allow that.

Here are a few snapshots of where we'll be headed in February (and no, these countries are only 1 degree from the Equator so there is NEVER a winter.  In fact, it is best to go in the 'winter' months :o) )

Singapore:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:

Phuket, Thailand:

We hope everyone is doing great :o)

Love & miss all of you!!!  I promise next time I will have more updated pictures.  We just need to get out more, haha.

<3

M & B