Holiday update

I hope everyone had a merriest christmas and happy hannukah. Let's hope 2006 is a year of peace and good cheer!

Recent goings-on in the lives of Anna and Gavin in Seoul:

>Gavin is working.
There's not much to say about Gavin's work. Except that there's a lot of it, and we are really grateful to be living a 5-minute walk away from his office. Well, can't complain much about billable hours, considering the fiery demise of his last firm. Gavin is planning on visiting New York for one week at the end of January. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make that trip with him. Next time!

>Anna has not been working.
I am so sorry to my few freelance clients out there. I have used up all my excuses. All I can say is, my brain will be back from its extended vacation next week, for sure.

>I took a one-week trip to Cambodia.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you in advance, Mom & Dad, but I went to Cambodia for a week by myself. I was worried that you would worry. And you know how we do it in the Lee Family: we worry so much that we worry about each other worrying... Anyway, there would have been no need to worry, since Cambodia is now a very safe place to travel. Though I went by myself (Gavin was too busy at work), I had a great time! First, I went to Phnom Penh, the capital, for a day. Then I took a fast boat up the Tonlé Sap River to Siem Reap. I stayed in Siem Riep for 5 days.
Here are photos of Phnom Penh.
Here are photos of Siem Reap.
I also did some sketches.
(The Flickr "slideshow" button helps you view the photos faster, but keep in mind that you won't be able to read the captions that way.)

There are usually two things that people will think of when you say "Cambodia" to them: the genocidal holocaust committed by the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979 and the glorious temples of Angkor Wat, built in the 9th-13th century. Today, tourism to Angkor Wat may very well represent Cambodia's future, while the horrifying legacy of the Khmer Rouge recedes into the past. One can only hope that this is the direction that Cambodia will take. It's still one of the poorest countries in Asia, with 36% of the population living below the basic-needs poverty line, lacking access to fresh drinking water, good nutrition, health care or education. This is the kind of thing that looks so picturesque in National Geographic photos but is so heartbreaking to see first hand. A continually corrupt government ensures that even as tourism to Cambodia has risen in the last decade, most regular folk only see a pittance of the profits, while the bulk of it lines the silken pockets of corrupt politicians and foreign investors operating luxury hotel chains, like Raffles International.

I took a lot of photos. There were also a lot of photos I didn't take. I highly recommend visiting Cambodia to see it for yourself. The power, beauty and vastness of the Angkorian temples (Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious monument) is awe-inspiring, something that cannot be fully appreciated in art history textbook photos. And the people I met were exceedingly kind, displaying a strong, frank, resilient temperment that can only come out of centuries of struggle. Accommodations can be incredibly cheap in Cambodia (as low as $5 a night for a guesthouse room!) but if you absolutely must relax in the lap of luxury, here's a responsible hotel. The tuk-tuk driver I hired to take me around the temples told me, "Please visit Cambodia again. I will never be able to visit your country. But you can visit mine."

>We had a good quiet Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at a hot springs.
Christmas isn't a very big holiday here, although it's growing in popularity. To avoid dwelling on missing our families too much, Gavin and I went to a hot springs about an hour train ride outside of Seoul. The air was bracingly cold and there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground, perfect weather to don swimsuits and run outside to jump in a hot pool, right? Right!
By the way, this here is a promotional photo from the hot spring's website. Really, I don't know these girls.
On the downside, the place was filled to the brim with cute little kids who were laughing, playing and trading cold viruses. So, of course, we woke up Christmas morning with a nasty flu.

>I took a one-day trip to Osaka, Japan.
To receive or change your visa in Korea, you need to visit a Korean consulate. The closest Korean consulate is an almost 2-hour flight away, in Osaka, Japan. My new company booked a flight and hotel room for me, so off I went on my first-ever trip to Japan. My flu and I left on the morning of December 26 and returned the evening of December 27. I guess that's more like two days, but if you subtract the time I spent waiting in the Korean consulate for my brand-spanking-new E-7 employment visa, then I had about 1 day of sightseeing.

My first impression of Japan confirmed what many have already told me: it's clean and the people are so polite! To that I would add: the Japanese have a profound sense of aesthetics, particularly in the realms of "cute" and "design." Truckloads of cute design. And sushi. Needless to say, my wallet was particularly susceptible on this trip... And, of course, I took lots of photos. Click here to see them.

>I start my new job on Monday, January 2nd.
I'll be a Level I Senior Designer in Brand Experience at a company called Design Continuum. Wish me luck... I'll let you know how it goes...