New Photo Gallery Site

I am moving all of my photographs to a new photo host. Hopefully this will be the final gallery site that I have to try. Click HERE to check it out. It is currently undergoing updating so most of my photos are not up yet.

R.I.P. Namdaemun

On a really sad note... some maniacal old man burned down Namdaemun Gate (aka Soongnaemun), the historical entrance to the city of Seoul. He was pissed at the Seoul government for not paying him enough money to relocate him so they could develop his land. This was Korea's number one most important historical artifact, and was about 700 years old. I have made hundreds of drives by it on my scooter on gorgeous spring and fall days just to see the gate and surrounding cityscapes and mountains off in the distance. Now it's gone. Here are some photos I got from a Naver photo gallery. My apologies to the photographers. I am not claiming credit for them. Just showing off the grand gate. Heartbreaking for Koreans.....

Butlers in Korea, Finally

Well, it took me 12 years to get some Butler family to visit me in Korea but I finally pulled it off. The downside is that it wasn't in time for Dad to make it. On the bright side.. Seoul is probably hella more tourist friendly than it was 12 years ago (or 5 for that matter) so it turned out to be a great trip. My mother Virginia, and sisters Alice and Jill and I had a wicked time checking out just about every corner of Seoul, amazing Korean food, some mountains and islands around Seoul and even down to my Korean "hometown" Gwangju. Check out the link to the pics below for a glimpse of what we saw and ate. Apologies to family for taking so many months to post something here. I haven't had a free minute for this blog since then..

Family Trip

More funny English signs

Luxury talking??? Some kid of hostess bar I presume. "Toxic" brand shampoo. For those tired of being politically correct. And, well, it's not English but it's funny.

Masters Program in Thailand

Despite the lack of photos to prove it, there was some actual studying going on in Chiang Mai for two weeks in January. But there was plenty of time to explore.... The photos are mostly from the southern beach town of Hua Hin, near where the royal family has a seaside palace, and Chiang Mai where I was studying, and one weekend trip to Doi Inthanon national park where sometime travel bud and MA classmate Stephen and I stumbled into a small Hmong village that was kicking off its weekend long Lunar New Year festival. The village chief's son Yee offered his home when he found out we had no place arranged. A long night of beer, festivities, and introduction to Hmong culture ensued (including being dressed up in Hmong Sundy-go-to-meetin' clothes). And a beautiful morning kicked off with an amazing breakfast spread made by Yee's wife.

I forgot to get photos of the exterior of my hotel, The Prince, in Chiang Mai but there are a few from the interior... while no 4 star, it did have a landscaped pool and jacuzzi and is filled with Asian antiques (not the pool). A very old but classy place for about $15 per night.



Enjoy the pics...

[Click on the picture of the spinning top below. Inside Picasa you can adjust the photo viewing size - large is best for scanning the thumbs- or you can click on the slide show function for easiest viewing. Note: I have reduced the size of the photos and added a copyright because I was getting about 700 downloads a month and had no way of preventing my photos from being used commercially (hey, you never know.. They may not be as enjoyable but just trying to protect them... Don't you love the sexy town names in Thailand? Hot. Thong. With names like that it's bound to be fun.]

Thailand 2008