Microchipping your dog in Korea

A microchip is a small device (about the size of a grain of rice) which is implanted in your pets skin. There are no batteries, no tracking technology and no radiation involved. The chip is implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades and contains all your information (phone number, address etc). The needle used is a bit bigger than those used for vaccinations, and so some people prefer to have their pet microchipped while their pet is undergoing another anaesthetic operation (such as neutering) to avoid any unnecessary pain. However, most pets tolerate the procedure with little or no reaction (Shadow included).

Once your pet has a micro chip, your vet will then scan the chip and load your personal info onto a data system, thereby registering you as the owner. South Korea is clamping down on dog owners, imposing heavy fines of up to KRW 1million on unregistered dog. So many pets are abandoned in Korea (after they loose their puppy cuteness or when their irresponsible owners realise how expensive it can be to own a pet) registering the pet allows those owners to be traced. 

There are three methods of registering your dog in Korea;

• an embedded RFID chip (Radio Frequency Identification)
• an electronic tag
• or an ordinary dog tag

Microchipping your dog in Korea is a very simple process. The only thing you need to research is what kind of micro chip is used in your home country, or the country you plan on taking your pet to when you leave Korea.  Different countries have different chips/scanners, and so depending on where you will be taking your dog when you leave Korea, you need to keep this in mind. As Shadow will be returning with us to South Africa, we needed to make sure his micro chip was an ISO (International Standard Organisation) either ISO 11784 and ISO 11785. South Africa, Canada, Europe & South Korea are countries that I know have 15 digit ISO chip and so getting your pet chipped here will mean they will be able to be scanned in those countries. I have been told by my local vet that I will be able to change my information and address easily when I get back to South Africa as currently Shadow has been registered with my address & phone number here in Korea. In most countries, pet microchips adhere to ISO to promote compatibility between chips and scanners (this refers to the 15 digit ISO chip I mentioned before). In the US, however, there are three different types of chips other than the international standard. Click here for more info on the different chips and scanners.

South Africa (our home country) have a very strict import policy with animals and as such, pets have to be microchipped. For travel to the US, I have read that your dog doesn't have to be chipped (do check with your travel agent to be sure). Also, having your dog chipped and registered here (or any country) just gives you peace of mind, knowing that if they get lost for any reason, they have a much higher chance of being returned to you. A lot of dogs are able to get loose of their collars, and so there is a chance that an electronic tag on a collar could get lost.

All vets will be able to chip your dog. I live in a very small 'rural' town and my vet was able to do it for me quickly and effectively, and all with his very limited English and my even more limited Korean. As I live in a small town, the cost of veterinary services is much cheaper than the bigger cities here in Korea. Micro chipping and registering cost me W25 000 (about $25) but W40 000 ($40) seems to be the going rate in bigger cities. The actual procedure was very quick. It just involves a needle and the chip is implanted into the base of the neck, just below the skin. The needle was large though, that was a bit scary, but it was over in a few seconds and Shadow didn't even notice anything afterwards. Afterwards I was given a certificate as well as a few copies of his 15 digit chip number. It was so easy to do and I can't urge pet owners, especially those here in Korea, to get one done for your pet. I have also heard of people who have ordered their own chip from the US and then simply asked their vet to insert it for them. You are then able to configure the chip to your home address in the US. That option might appeal to you if you are leaving the country soon and know where you are going to be living when you get back home. As we will still be in Korea for at least another year I need to have my Korean address and phone number set up on my dogs chip.

Have you had any experience microchipping your pet? Please leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Borneo Through Photographs

For the last summer holidays Farmboy and I headed to Borneo. Before researching for our trip I didn't know too much about the island (did you know that Borneo is actually the second largest island in the world and is made up of 3 countries; Malaysia, Indonesia & Brunei). Along our travels we had a wonderful taxi driver who spent the hour we had with him telling us tales of pirates, folklore and other stories relating to the history of the Island.

We spent time in 3 different cities in Malaysia Borneo and their surrounding towns, all of which were very different from each other. We explored the concrete jungle of Kuching, the rain forests and lake surrounding Bantang Ai National Park and scuba dived amongst the reefs of Mabul Island. It was one of the most diverse travel adventures we have had and I look forward to sharing more with you about this incredible place.

I will be doing a full travel guide soon, but in the mean time here are a few photographs from our trip. 

Enjoy x

Kuching & Semonghoh Nature Reserve

Bantang Ai Lake & Visit to a Traditional Longhouse

Jungle Trek around Bantang Ai Lake & Rasa Risa Orangatun Rehabilitation Centre in Kota Kinabalu

Floating Palace in Kota Kinabalu & Mabul Island, Sabah.

Inspirational Instagram Profiles

Instagram has been my favourite social media platform for a while now. When I first started I was following all sorts of random people. As the months went by I realised just how powerful Instagram is as a networking tool and I began to look for fellow creatives in my field (lifestyle/travel/beauty bloggers) to follow and I've built real friendships with a lot of them. I even collaborated with someone I met via Instagram on this Boho Bridal styled Wedding shoot (click here to see my photographs). 

A basic search will turn up loads of interesting new brands and people to follow, but I'm not so much interested in the huge corporations as I am the smaller business owners and creatives. I find the people who are in the same boat as I am, trying to take our blogs and businesses out into this big bad world and so much more real, more genuine, and ultimately so much more likely to spend time following you back or commenting and actively engaging in your work. I'm not sure about you but I know that I'd rather have 100 engaging followers than 100 000 fans who simply follow without knowing a single things about who the person is behind my brand. 

I find that the more relatable creatives I follow, the more I am inspired to create better content for my own feed and more my blog. Are there any Instagram profiles you absolutely love? Share them with me in the comments below. Even better than that, share your own profile below and I'll pop by and say hello. 

Here is small list of some of my current favourite profiles on Instagram, simply click each image to find them on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Fall For DIY

A Bubbly Life

Annings

Nicole Dianne

Dunne With Style

Hello everyone! Welcome back, I have a few questions for you.

Dear readers, thank you for coming back to visit after the last 2 weeks of silence here on the blog. Farmboy and I have just got back from a wonderful trip to Borneo (lots of travel information and photographs to come soon) and I have started work again today. Farmboy and I both teach English here in South Korea in a small town called Buan near the West Coast of Korea. 

If you're new to the blog then click here to find out more about what it is I write about. I've also laid out all the categories of my blog in a helpful way so don't miss out on my previous posts.

I have lots to share with you over the coming weeks but I would love to know from you what you would like to see more of here on the blog.

Are you wanting to read more in the lines of travel guides? Would you like to see more recipes? More makeup reviews? More personal posts about life here in Korea? Would you like me to make more videos (click here to visit my Youtube channel and see the videos I've done so far)?

I really do love blogging but for me what I love even more is providing useful information and content for you, and so you telling me what you'd like to see more of helps me to keep on creating.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week and that your Monday helps you start the week off with a bang!

AFK for the next 16 days!

AFK (away from keyboard) - hubby would be so proud to see me using his gaming lingo to describe the next 2 and a bit weeks of holiday. The Huttons (ie Farmboy & CityGirl) are off super early tomorrow morning to make our way to the airport.

As per usual we are cramming a million things into one day starting with:

An early drive to Daejeon to drop off #ShadowTheJindo at the boarding kennels > hide car somewhere where we won't incur huge fines or have our wheels clamped > race to the airport bus and hopefully get 2 tickers before they are sold out > head to the airport to make our afternoon flight to Kuala Lumpur and then onto Borneo, Malaysia.

While we are away you might want to pop by and visit me on Instagram (@roxyhutton) where I will surely be posting lots of photographs of our travels:

Or you can look through these travel posts and travel guides to help you plan your next holiday...the world is your oyster!

Water Lilies in Korea

Every month new flowers bloom here in Korea, each as unique and distinctive as the changing seasons. As this is our last year here in South Korea I am hoping to be able to capture them all with my camera.

July brings with it humidity such that I have never experienced before (I have been told Dubai is worse though so I won't complain too much) but with that humidity comes the beautiful water lilies. These photographs were taken just outside my town at around 5h30am, with one the last one being an extra special photograph of my pup, #ShadowTheJindo. 

As much as I hate spiders, they were all over the lilies and I felt I just had to include at least one of them. I'm sorry if it makes you jump!

Enjoy 

x

What's your favorite flower here in Korea? 

Things to do & places to stay in Seoul, South Korea

We had friends out from South Africa recently and spent a wonderful weekend with them in Seoul. Farmboy and I have been to Seoul numerous times (click here to see other posts with things to do in this vibrant city) but there is always more to see and do in Korea's capital.

We found a wonderful apartment on AirBnb called SeoulSketch (click here to make a booking) and stayed there for 2 nights. The apartment was clean and spacious with 2 double beds, a kitchen, living room area and bathroom.

It was perfect for 4 people and was situated only a 5 minute walk from the Gyeongbokgung Palace Subway Station.

We spent our first evening wondering around Hongdae (Hongik University Subway Line) and doing some late night shopping. The stores only close around 10/11pm and restaurants are usually open till even later. 

Saturday morning we spent walking around Samcheon-dong which is the very artsy neighbourhood surrounding Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Buckcheon Hanok Village (a traditional Korean folk village) is also right next to the palace, so you can definitely spend a good number of hours strolling around, taking photographs and eating your fill of great food. 

We spent the morning wondering around Samcheon-dong, and then headed to Myeong-dong for some more shopping in the afternoon. There are also dog & cat cafes in Myeong-dong (click here to read more about these interesting cafes) which are a fun way to spend a few hours. 

After an afternoon nap we got showered and all dressed up for a night out at Club Ocatagon, one of the famous super clubs in Gangnam. Entrance for Octagon was W10 000 before 11pm (after which it jumps up to W30 000 per person) and includes a drink. Make sure to bring ID (you must be over the age of 19) and they ask EVERYONE! Never in my life did I think I would be asked for ID at the ripe old age of 27, but I was, along with every other person in line.

Saturday morning was spent at Suji's in Itaewon for brunch (click here for a full review). Suji's is our absolute favourite place for breakfast/lunch in Seoul. Most restaurants and cafes in Seoul only open at 10am making eating more of a brunch than a breakfast.

Then it was back to Yongsan station to catch the train to take us home. You can book train tickets In English online through the Korail website using your Korean/International credit card or Korean debit card.

Do you have any other recommendations of places to see and things to do in Seoul? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

The Philippines Travel Guide: El Nido

Farmboy and I spent two weeks in the Philippines over the December holidays in 2010. Even though that was a few years ago, the following information is still relevant and all the links have been updated to help you in planning your trip. We spent a total of 5 days in Puerto Princess (click here) at the start and end of our trip, and the rest of the time we spent in El Nido.

I have been told that there are now direst flights to El Nido, but when we were there we had to take a 7 hour mini van trip. That trip was pretty horrendous as we were packed into a van with a number of other people and it was terribly uncomfortable. But it was cheap and that was the idea. We hadn't booked any accommodation before arriving, and so spent the first few hours walking from place to place in search of a room. We spent one awful night at a place on the beach called Spider Pension (AVOID AT ALL COSTS!) which consisted of a dingy room, hole in the floor for a toilet and cockroaches and flies everywhere. After that awful experience we set off early the next morning in search of anything better. We eventually found some newly build cottages set off the main road and part of Rosanna's Pension. Clean and cheap it was the perfect place to base ourselves for 3 nights. From there the restaurants and cafes were a short walk into the main part of town.

We ate a lot of our meals at Art Cafe; a wonderful laid back spot that served great food and drinks all day.

As it was the holiday period and it seemed most of the nicer places were fully booked but we eventually found a place with 2 double beds and air-conditioning. Although El Nido at the time was running on generators which turned off in the middle of the day and the middle of the night, something to keep in mind if you need to charge things or plan to have a hot shower at a particular time. We managed fine though and barely noticed the power outages. 

El Nido itself is gorgeous. When we were there it was still very undiscovered, with only a few restaurants and cafes. I think there is much more variety now, but friends have told us it is still magical and not over crowded like Boracay. From El Nido you can take boats out for the day to hundreds of different islands and spend the day seeing no one. Pure Bliss! 

We booked a 3 day 2 night island hopping tour with Tao which was both incredible and disastrous at the same time. Incredible because of the sights, but disastrous as we were served pork which had not been kept cold and gave us all food poisoning...not something you want when spending the day on a boat traveling from island to island. Even though we were all rather queasy throughout the trip, it was an incredible experience. It costs us at that time about $250 per person for all meals, boat rides and accommodation in basic local lodging.

Once back in El Nido it was New Years eve and we welcomed the new year in the woven basket pods surrounding The Alternative restaurant. We then spent 2 days hiring scooters and traveling around El Nido where there are more beautiful beaches to discover, our favourite being Nacpan Beach. Hiring scooters is a great way to avoid the crowds and it's very inexpensive too.

After our fill of beaches we headed back to Puerto Princessa by the local public bus for our final night.  We spent it the one and only 'fancy' hotel we could find, for some well deserved luxury (at the time it was $65 for a room for 4 people for the night). We did some last minute shopping at the pearl markets, and finally headed back to the bustling metropolis of Manila, and finally home to Korea.

USEFUL TRAVEL INFO FOR THE PHILIPPINES

• 30 day visa free entry for citizens of South African, USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia (and a number of other countries...click here for more info).
• Pack an emergency medicine kit. As this was only our second trip to Asia, none of us had packed the basic supplies like flu/stomach cramps/pain pills. After the food poisoning I went and got full on flu and just had to live through it for the last 4 days of our holiday...make sure to pack some nose spray/decongestants to help with any flu symptoms you may have. Rather be safe than sorry!
• Use travel apps like Orbitz to book hotels/hostels if you can (they often give discounts for using the app and you can score some great deals!)
• Pack a travel towel/cotton sarong that you can wet at night and sleep under if you don't have airconditioning. This will help keep you cool if you only have a fan in your room (and this will especially help you sleep at night if you have no fan/electricity).
• Buy a waterproof bag to store your valuables in when going on boat rides. At the very least have a few spare ziplock bags handy to store passports and cash in, just in case your bags get wet.

Do you have any recommendations of things to do and see in Puerto Princessa? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

How to Plan your own Murder Mystery Party

I organised a Murder Mystery party for Farmboys birthday and it went so well that I thought I'd share some details on it in case you too want to host one. I hadn't been to a murder mystery party before, and so really had no idea where to even begin. I started off getting in touch with a girl here in Korea who holds an annual murder mystery event, and she was so incredibly kind. She gave me all the info I needed to get started, as well as as sample character bio's. Her event is the larger end of the scale, with up to 40 people attending. As I only had 22 guest, things were a little easier. You can buy complete party kits online, and there are loads and loads of free printable goodies on Pinterest, but to really save time I followed an awesome plan I found online, put together by Nick Breen (click here).

Nick lays out an entire scenario, characters, backstories & email templates so all the hard work is done. Then it's just up to you to send out characters to your guests and hope they all dress up! I would also suggest asking a friend to help you if you aren't the creative type. I had the help of a very talented friend, Kim, who helped me in creating more characters and their backstories. Thank you Kimmie! I couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you for all the help Kim! Photo taken by Ian Bethune

I used Facebook to create an event for the party, and from there was able to send out group messages (I'm sure theses were terribly annoying at times) but they helped to let guests know what was going on, as well as to send reminders for things like directions, starting times & pre-ordering food.

The hardest part of the entire planning process was making sure I didn't send the wrong character information to the wrong person! I sent out a message 3 weeks before with the basic details of the event (time, place & theme) using the following template adapted from Nick Breens site:

You are all guests at an upscale casino in Las Vegas. You have very rare tickets to the best night of excitement on the strip; the famous Elvis Impersonator. It's 8 o'clock and everyone has gathered into the swanky casino bar for the star performer, the best Elvis Impersonator of all time. 
As the show starts, a gunshot echoes throughout the bar. The curtain comes up, and Elvis goes down. The casino's bar doors slam shut and everyone in the bar is now a suspect.

You are requested at the party to determine which of our friends is the murderer. Throughout the night you can talk to any of the suspects to see who they are and to determine if they are the murderer. One person will be the murderer, if you are not the murderer, you can try and trick everyone into believing you are, or you can simply hunt for the murderer.

I will be giving everyone attending a short character backstory. I encourage you to develop your character as much as you want. I have given you a lot of room to be creative with your character. The more you shape your characters backstory, the more believable it will be. Some of the character backstories that I will provide you with will contain clues which you must tell everyone else at the party. Piece together enough clues and you may find the murderer.

In order to guess who the murderer is, you must answer the following three questions;

1. Who Murdered Elvis
2. How did they murder Elvis
3. Why did they murder Elvis.

Each person will be allowed two guesses throughout the evening. All guesses will be made publicly. The first person to correctly guess these three questions will get a prize.  I will be sending out your character information next week so you can prepare a costume etc.  It should be a lot of fun! 

I had 22 guests and so had to create a few more characters than those suggested by Nick Breen on his blog. If you do this, you need to make sure the new character stores tie in with the existing ones. I also suggest creating one or two extra characters in case you have a few unexpected guests. You can make these character roles minor, so that if they aren't in the plot the story still makes sense.

Then I sent out the characters 2 weeks before the event, and a few final reminders in the last week.

I asked Dave (the owner of the Jeonju Diner in Jeonju) if we could host the event at his restaurant. I also asked very nicely if he would be our Elvis too. He was very gracious and went all out in preparation for his role as the murdered showman. It was fantastic.

I was thrilled to see that most people really got into character, and their costumes were great. I had asked guests to start arriving at from 7pm with the aim of the game starting at 8. I did this to make sure that everyone had arrived by the start of the event. If you do this, make sure to let people know they should not be in character until the game starts otherwise you will have people guessing and chatting about their characters, and possibly even solving the mystery before all your guests even arrive! On that note, to keep a real air of mystery, remind your guests to keep their characters secret until the actual party.

I really had a great time, and I think so did everyone else. It was a wonderful change from the usual dinner and drinks shenanigans, and it was great fun hunting for clues and sending people off onto the wrong trail in their hunt for the murderer. 

Let me know if you host your own Murder Mystery party. I'd love to hear how it goes as well as if you have any tips or advice for making things even better.

A Winnie The Pooh Baby Shower

One of my dear friends from university will soon be having a baby boy here in Korea. This is both a very exciting and scary time for her, being so far from friends and family back in South Africa. Even though it may seem incredibly daunting to some people, Vicky and her husband have done everything they need to stay up to date with how things work here when it comes to giving birth, and have an amazing support system, made up of new friends who have all come together to help in any way they can. Her friends threw her a very surprise baby shower a few weekends ago, and I was able to be part of the surprise, and to capture a few photographs of the special day. Everything was organised and put together so beautifully, and the Winnie the Pooh theme was just so cute. 

Vicky, you are so brave and so strong. I admire you more than words can say and I can't wait to meet your baby boy.

x 

For any soon to be moms here in Korea, there are a whole number of really great Facebook support groups created by fellow expat moms. Let me know in the comments section below if you would like me to put you in touch with them.

Makeup Lesson Ideas - Teaching English in Korea

Its the last week before my school breaks up for the summer holidays and all my students (and the teachers) are tired and ready for the break. I teach at an all girls middle school here in Korea, and the students are under a lot of pressure right throughout the year in anticipation of their final high school exams. Instead of simply watching movies with my students in the last few days leading up the end of the semester, I have been doing a very fun (minimal prep) lesson on makeup. I thought my girls would enjoy the lesson, but I didn't realise just how much they would get into it, as each of my classes this week have requested this lesson. I had initially only planned on doing it with my oldest students, but as each class has asked to do it, I simply modified the power point with slightly easier vocabulary for the younger students.

Here are the links to download both lessons (the higher level & the lower level) as well as a PPT with the documents to print out. I was passed on this lesson by a friend, and am not the original creator but have since modified it to suit my students). Feel free to download and edit these lessons for your students:

There are 4 parts to the entire lesson and you can use it to cover 2 lessons if needed. I have only had time to cover the first 2 parts of the lesson so far as my girls have really gotten into the colouring in part.

Breakdown of the Lesson:

1. Vocabulary for the parts of the face (students can label the parts of the face with Korean translations)

2. Makeup Vocabulary: go through the names of each makeup product and the verbs used for each product (adjust for lower level students)

3. Students design their own makeup for their 'face'

4. Listening activity: print out an image of your face (or any person) and instruct he students on how to apply the makeup. This is always lots of fun seeing whether they listen to your instructions or not.

*You can swop steps 3 & 4 around as step 3 takes the longest time

I hope you find this useful! Please do let me know if you use this lesson in your class and how it goes in the comments below.

Camping with your dog in Korea

Owning a dog in Korea isn't easy. Especially if you own one of the larger breeds and you can't carry them in your handbag or in a pet carrier. This is why we spend a lot of time camping (click here to see more posts about camping in Korea), as finding pet friendly accommodation is pretty near impossible. If you live in Seoul you have a much wider selection of places you can easily visit and stay at with your dog, but if you live in the smaller country side towns in Korea, camping is your best bet. It's also the perfect time of the year to head outdoors, and so I hope this post is useful for you if you have a dog here in Korea and want to head out in search of an adventure.

Camping in Yongdam...click here to read more.

Camping in Gangwon...click here to read more

Of course, having a car makes the whole camping experience that much more enjoyable as you can transport all your gear easily, but it's not a pre-requisite. Although, I can imagine carrying/walking your dog and your camping gear would all together be quite a feat!

From what we have gathered, you can camp pretty much anywhere in Korea, as long as you clean up after yourself. We have camped on tennis courts, closed off and abandoned roads, in river beds and in Museum gardens (that last one being a very late night find). Camping with a dog is slightly trickier, as if your pup is anything like our Shadow, he likes to explore his new surroundings and this often finds me running around like a headless chicken trying to catch him.

We have stayed at one actual dog friendly campsite in Yongdam (near Jinan, South Jeolla Province...click here to see a full post on it) and have also stayed with him the National park in Muju (click here to see the post). Dogs are not allowed (legally) to stay or be in National Parks according to the National Park website, but with a lot of smiling and our broken Korean we were told that he would have to be on lead and kept in the car. I think as long as your dog doesn't terrorise the neighbours and you keep them on lead, you shouldn't have any problems. Shadow just sleeps with us in our tent at night and so no one really notices him.

You might have a problem if your dog is very yappy or barks a lot as people will probably complain. Just keep that in mind and just use your common sense. We like to camp off the beaten track and so haven't had any problems so far with anyone complaining about us. We have also just bought a very long roll of rope to create a kind of extension running lead set up so we can keep an eye on him but Shadow can still move around. 

Overall, camping in general is really fun and being able to do that with your canine companion just makes it even more so.

I hope I inspire you to try out camping with your pooch.

If you come across or know of any great camping spots that are dog friendly, please leave me a comment below!

Philippines Travel Guide: Puerto Princessa

Farmboy and I traveled to the Philippines over Christmas 2010, and even though it was a number of years ago, the information posted here has been verified and will still be useful for you when planning your trip to this beautiful country. Things will have changed since then, but we have had numerous friends travel there since we were there using our travel tips so this guide should at least provide a basic overview of places to see and things to do. I have checked all the links that they do indeed go to the right hotel/websites but if anything isn't linking up, please leave me a comment below.

Farmboy and I met up with his brother and sister in law in Seoul and then made our way to Incheon airport for the 5 hour flight to Manila. We flew Cebu Pacific from Incheon to Manila, and then had a domestic flight to Puerto Princessa. We had an 8 hour wait for the flight to Puerto Princessa, and as it was late at night we decided to 'splurge' and book into a hotel just outside the airport for a cold shower (it was HOT!) and a quick nap before our flight the next day. We spent 3 days in Puerto Princessa, 6 days in El Nido (click here) and then 1 more night back in Puerto Princessa before flying back to Korea. 

Once arriving in Puerto Princessa we headed to our accommodation for the next 2 nights, at Albon Pesion. We were picked us up at the airport (something I would highly recommend as you don't have to fight over taxis and waste time haggling for a fair rate). Albon Pension was a very reasonable, basic place to stay, but the staff were very friendly and the location was very central. We were able to walk to most restaurants and cafes and it was clean. 

There are lots of tours that leave from Puerto Princessa, the most famous being the under ground river in Sabang. The Underground river has recently been declared one of the Natural Wonders of the World and is a must if visiting Puerto Princessa.  There are also a number of boat rides you can take through the mangroves which are well worth a trip. In 2010 the mangrove tour cost us $5 a person, and the underground river tour was $35 pp including lunch. Albon Pension arranged the tours for us, including the 2.5 hour bus ride to Sabang in an airconditioned mini van.  The ride to Sabang itself was beautiful, and the driver will stop along the way for you to get some scenic shots.

We also booked a day trip to Honda Bay, and onto Snake Island. It was a short drive to Honda Bay and from there a short boat ride to the island. We again booked this with Albon Pension. The weather wasn't too great and the water was quite murky, but we still were able to see a few fish while out snorkelling. We also had our first taste of fresh fish for lunch which was a fun experience, especially sharing a table with the locals.

Back on the mainland, there are lots and lots of great restaurants to eat at with seafood buffets and loads of other interesting dishes. We spent our last 2 days in Puerto Princessa after our 6 days in El Nido (post to come soon) and had a great time wondering around the markets and buying fresh water pearls as gifts for friends and family. We all put our left over cash together and booked a room in one of the fancier hotels in Puerto Princessa for our last night as a treat. We slept so well that night and really enjoyed the hotels pool and breakfast buffet the next morning. It was a great way to spend our last night in the Philippines.

I will be posting the second half of our trip where we spent 6 days in El Nido and the surrounding islands soon.

Useful Travel Info for the Philippines

• 30 day visa free entry for citizens of South African, USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia (and a number of other countries...click here for more info).
• Pack an emergency medicine kit. As this was only our second trip to Asia, none of us had packed the basic supplies like flu/stomach cramps/pain pills. After the food poisoning I went and got full on flu and just had to live through it for the last 4 days of our holiday...make sure to pack some nose spray/decongestants to help with any flu symptoms you may have. Rather be safe than sorry!
• Use travel apps like Orbitz to book hotels/hostels if you can (they often give discounts for using the app and you can score some great deals!)
• Pack a travel towel/cotton sarong that you can wet at night and sleep under if you don't have airconditioning. This will help keep you cool if you only have a fan in your room (and this will especially help you sleep at night if you have no fan/electricity).
• Buy a waterproof bag to store your valuables in when going on boat rides. At the very least have a few spare ziplock bags handy to store passports and cash in, just in case your bags get wet.

Do you have any recommendations of things to do and see in Puerto Princessa? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Crate TRaining & How to choose an airline approved crate for international travel

If you adopt or rescue a dog here in Korea like we have, chances are you will at some stage or another have to get your pup back home. To do this you are going to have to get a dog crate (or carrier if your dog is small enough to fly in cabin). Crates come in all shapes and sizes and it is so overwhelming trying to decide which is the right one for you and your dog. I hope this post makes your life a little bit easier when choosing a crate or going about crate training.

Crate Training

Whichever crate you buy, you are going to need to spend a lot of time (and patience!) getting your dog used to the crate and hopefully comfortable enough in it that they choose to sleep in it if given a choice. There are loads and loads of great youtube videos on crate training but the best tip I can give you is to start small and work slowly. Give yourself enough time (preferably months) to successfully get your dog used to his or her crate. Ideally, crate training should start the moment you bring your dog home but understandably this is not always possible if you rescue a dog unexpectedly (like we did). Also, we only gave him toys and treats inside his crate (if he took them out we would pick them up and place them back in his crate until he stopped bringing them out). Also feeding your dog in his crate will ensure he associates his crate with positive experiences. Make it rain treats inside the crate, and you will slowly be able to work on a command that goes along him going inside the crate. Pretty soon you'll be able to put your dog to bed with just the command. But remember to start slow and be patient. I'm pretty sure we would also hate being closed off in a small space and left unattended for hours at a time. I highly recommend the following dog training Youtube channels for training:

• KikiPups
• Training Positive
• Zak George

Crate training was hard. Listening to my poor pup crying all night because he wanted to be close to us was horrible BUT it has been the best thing we have ever done for him.  We work all day and so Shadow is left at home alone for up to 8 hours a day. To protect him, and to protect the rest of our house, we kept him closed in a spare room with a baby gate on th door from the first night we got him until we got a crate. It took him about 10 days to acclimatise to being left alone at night, and boy oh boy did he cry. It was SO hard hearing him cry and not going to him and picking him up. But, it stopped eventually and he started to sleep through the night. We were also able to quickly pick up whether he was crying for attention or crying to go to the bathroom.

Crate training is also a wonderful tool for housetraining your dog as their crate becomes their home or their 'den' similar to something they may have if they were left out in the wild. Because of this, dogs are really reluctant to dirty their sleeping area, and so housetraining them to either use a pee pad or to go outside is made much easier. We live in an apartment here in South Korea where Shadow is an inside dog. When we go back to South Africa he will be an outside dog and so we trained him right from the start to go to the toilet outside. This was harder for us than for him, and involved lots of late night dashes outside in the snow and the rain when his was only a few months old. He was able to make it throughout the night without needing to go to the bathroom after he was about 5 months old. He only pooped in the house once, the first night we found him at 2 months, and after that he only peed in the house a handful of times. Crate training really works!

Another benefit to crate training is that your dog has  safe space to go to if he feels frightened or stressed. If you have small kids coming over and your dog isn't too fond of being grabbed touched, they can put themselves into their crate until they feel safe again. Having them crate trained also helps if you need to transport them anywhere, be that in a car, train or on an airplane. 

Choosing the right crate

If you have a puppy and you aren't sure what size crate to buy because you're not sure how big your dog will get, buying a wire crate is usually cheapest (unless you can get a regular plastic crate second hand). 

You can use anything 'crate like' to crate train your dog, but bear in mind that if you plan to travel internationally on a long flight, it will help to give your dog some time to get used to/familiar with his airline crate a few weeks before you make the trip. 

Crates like this wire one pictured above are not allowed on airplanes but work well to help get your dog (or cat) used to being confined. I found Shadow cried more if he could see us when he was locked in his crate. If this happens with your wire crate you can try covering it with a blanket at first so your pup feels less like he is missing out on the fun.

We bought a sturdy airline approved crate (pictured above with Shadow at 6 months) within the first few weeks of finding Shadow, and I had hoped that it would be the crate we sent him home to South Africa in. Unfortunately his ears have grown so big and with another year to go before we leave I have had to buy another crate and and just hope he doesn't out grow this one. Buying crates here in Korea is expensive. The sturdier, airline approved crates cost anywhere rom W100 000 up to W300 000 (-+$100 - $300) new. And so the decision over which crate to buy is one that needs some thought. I'd suggest buying something cheap to begin the crate training with, and then once your dog is used to that, and depending on when you need to travel, but a crate closer to your time of departure. 

Airline Crate Regulations

Crates that are approved to fly have to be IATA (International Air Transport Association) approved. This means they have to fill a number of regulations.

Basically the crate has to have:

•   ventilation on all four sides
• be sturdy
• metal bolt fasteners
• handles to allow it to be picked up
• The floor must be solid and leakproof. 
• The door must form the whole of one end of the container and can be either sliding or hinged.

There are a few more regulations but those are the basics. Here is an easy video showing you how you can easily modify a plastic crate to be airline approved. 

Choosing the Right Sized Crate

Your crate must have enough space for your pet to turn about normally while standing, to stand and sit erect, and to lie in a natural position.  In the pictures above you can see that the crate is too small for my 1 year old Jindo. The measurements of this crate (the IRIS ATC-870) are 87cm x 62cm x 65 cm and although he isn't a very large dog (he only weighs 17kg's and this crate was designed for labradors apparently), he is quite tall and has large ears. 

As you can see, his new crate (an Extra Large Vari Kennel) with dimensions 100cm x 67cm x 75cm is much better for him. I just hope he doesn't grow too much in the next year before we go home! I bought this Vari kennel here on gmarket for W170 000. 

For international travel there are a number of other things that you need to prepare (food bows, water container that can be refilled from the outside of the crate, live animal stickers, releasable cable ties etc). That information can be found on the the IATA website by clicking here. 

Do you have any other questions or advice for crate training or choosing a crate? Please comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Korean Wild Flower Wedding Inspiration Styled Shoot

This styled photo shoot has been three months in the making and came out of an email conversation after a chance meet up with fellow creative Marketa from Bohemian Mint. I found Marketa on Instagram one day while searching for illustrations (her work is amazing!) and so began a friendship despite us living hundreds of miles away from each other. Marketa is originally from the Czech Republic but is currently living in the USA. It was after interviewing Marketa for my LifeAfterTheDress series that she asked me if I would be interested in collaborating with her on a styled wedding inspiration shoot. I couldn't contain my excitement as I love doing styled shoots (you can see more of my styled shoot portfolio here) and so began the process of brainstorming and putting both of our ideas onto paper.

As I am living in South Korea we both thought incorporating a Korean model would make this shoot very unique, and Marketa also chose to design the wedding stationery with a Korean bride in mind. We chose a soft pallet of neutral colours, with pops of pastel shades throughout. 

On one of the Korean Expat groups I found a makeup artist (Rachel) who had been looking for models for her makeup course and so I got in touch with her asking if she would like to be involved in a bridal styled shoot. Rachel is from the UK and is also teaching here in Korea, so we had lots to chat about while planning the beauty aspects of the shoot. Then we needed to find a model, and after a disastrous experience with a professional Korean model I was at my wits end, resorting to a last minute group post on Facebook. A friend messaged told me that she had someone in mind, who just so happened to be on her way to Seoul the weekend of the photo shoot, and would be free to stop past my town on the way. It really couldn't have worked out better, as Jess (a fellow Korean Youtuber) was just such a delight! Both Rachel & Jess were happy to run with all of my ideas for the shoot, and both had so many good ideas to add.

I'm looking forward to many more collaborations and working on more styled shoots while here in Korea. You can find all the creatives contact details below if you'd like to get in touch with them.

Enjoy!

x 

Stationery: Marketa from Bohemian Mint

• Website: Bohemian Mint
• Facebook: Bohemian Mint
• Instagram: Bohemian Mint

Hair & Makeup Artist: Rachel Porter

• Facebook: KIT Makeup
• Instagram: Rachel Porter

Model: Jessica G. W Han

• Facebook: Jessica Han
• Instagram: I am Jessica Han
• Youtube: Jessica Han

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Experiencing a Korean Temple Stay: Naesosa Temple

All the English teachers in my small town were taken on a workshop recently, hosted by our local department of Education. Most education departments organise for their teachers to attend workshops, some of which are more team building, while others are planned around lectures and seminars. For this one we were taken to Naesosa Temple to experience a traditional Korean Temple Stay.

Temple Stays are a way for ordinary people to experience the life of the Korean Buddhist Monks, with 4am wakeup calls for worship and meditation as well as arts and craft activities.

We did a lot of activities during our 2 day 1 night program. We made lotus lanterns, painted traditional Korean Buddhist temple designs on wood, rung the bell to call monks to worship, participated in a tea ceremony as well as a traditional Buddhist monk eating ceremony. I found the eating ceremony to be the most fascinating. During the meal, we had to sit in front of our bowls and wait to be called upon to complete a particular role during the ceremony (dish out water or rice). Each bowl had to be placed in order, chopsticks and spoon were only to be placed on top of the top right bowl, and once e had eaten, we were instructed to clean each bowl 2 times using water that was ceremoniously poured at the start. We used a piece if radish to clean the bowls in order, three times, and then had to drink the water used to clean the bowls. Our Monk leader told us that people these days are so wasteful, and so drinking the water used to wash the bow reduces waste and creates more of an awareness for food wastage...it was a rathe interesting experience to say the least. 

As Christians, Farmboy and I were a little hesitant before the trip, and although the local monks wern't too happy with us not wanting to participate in the 108 bows to Buddha, we were able to just wait outside until everyone else was done.  I had a really great time and enjoyed the experiences. If you are interested in a temple stay (and are prepared for the traditional Korean sleeping style and vegetable diet eaten by the Monks) then I would really recommend a temple stay. Naesosa is situated in Jeolloboko, near the Byeonsan National Park.

For more information about Naesosa and the programs they offer, click here.  

Address:

243, Naesosa-ro, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do 
전라북도 부안군 진서면 내소사로 243

Zucchini Noodles: Low Carb Banting Pasta Recipe

One thing I really miss since I started Banting is PASTA! I used to eat a lot of pasta, mostly because it was an easy meal to put together no matter how domestically challenged I may be in the kitchen. My friend and fellow blogger, Komodoness, made these noodles for me one night and I was shocked at just how 'pasta' like they tasted. I mean, they don't taste exactly like pasta, but with zero calories they are as good to your hips as your taste buds and will most certainly satisfy those carb cravings.

You could use these noodles with any pasta sauce (they would taste just as good with the lasagna and cream cheese mince from my Banting Lasagna recipe). 

This recipe is super easy and can be modified in so many ways. Once you have your zucchini noodles (or zoodles!) you can chop and change with whatever toppings you have available in your fridge or pantry. For this particular recipe I made a white sauce (adapted from The Keto Diet Blog), added bacon and some chopped up dried garlic and onion flakes.

How to make Zucchini Noodles

You need:

2-3 large zucchini's

Peeler/Grater (you can either use a regular cheese grate and hold the zucchini on it's side to create longer noodles, or you can use a Julienne peeler. I use the Verimark Shogun Peeler which I brought over with my from South Africa)

Directions

Simply peel your zucchinis, placing the 'noodles' in a large bowl. Depending on how crunchy you like your noodles you can either add them as they are now to your sauce, or if you want them softer you can steam/microwave them for a few minutes. Keep in mind that Zucchinis hold a lot of water which will be released when cooking/steaming. 

Banting White Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream 
• 2 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup cream cheese or soft goat cheese 
• ½ cup grated cheddar or hard goat cheese
• 1-2 tbsp water or more cream if you need to thin it down

Directions

1. Place the cream and butter into a small sauce pan and gently heat up. Grate the cheddar cheese and keep aside
2. Once heated, add the cream cheese into the sauce pan
3. Stir until melted and bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles, take off the heat
4. Add grated cheddar cheese and mix until smooth and creamy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook for 3-5 more minutes while stirring. If too thick, add a splash of water or cream.
5. The sauce should be eaten immediately or kept at room temperature before serving. Once refrigerated and reheated, the butter separates and the cheese clumps which you want to avoid.

Bacon & Cream Sauce Zucchini Noodles

1. Prepare your Zucchini noodles following the recipe above
2. Fry your bacon in a large pan big enough to hold all your noodles
3. With the bacon fat, prepare your sauce with the cooked bacon, stirring to ensure the bacon doesn't burn
4. Add noodles and stir on high hight for a few minutes until your noodles are coated in sauce. For crunchier noodles serve right away with a sprinkle of parmesan, salt & pepper. If you want softer noodles, leave noodles on the heat and keep stirring for a few more minutes before serving.

Happy cooking!

How to Groom a Shedding Jindo Dog - a guide for double coated dogs

We found Shadow at 2 months old, wondering on a dark road late at night here in South Korea. Because we have no idea who his parents were, we really can't be sure if he is a pure Jindo or a mix (although it is unlikely that he is a pure Jindo's as the pedigrees are incredibly expensive and it's not likely his owner would have been as irresponsible with him if he was a pure Jindo). In any case, the majority of 'Jindo' looking dogs that are in shelters/roaming the streets/abandoned/those that have been rescued from meat farms here in Korea are mixes of some kind. For those who have only seen white Jindos before, the Jindo actually comes in 5 different colours; white, brown, tan, yellow, grey, black & tan, & brindle...Shadow is of the black & tan variety.

The Korean Jindo is a hunting dog native to South Korea. They are double-coated dogs whose coats consists of an outer layer of guard hairs and an inner layer of undercoat. The undercoat is what keeps these dogs cool in summer and warm in winter. The guard hairs are shiny, stiff, and water-proof while the undercoat hairs are soft, slightly crinkly, and insulating. The guard hairs are lifted somewhat away from the body and can give an overall harsh feel to the coat. These guard hairs are the ones that make up the dogs hackles which usually stand on end when a dog is anxious or nervous.  Double-coated dogs generally shed their soft undercoats twice a year,  although some individual dogs might shed constantly or only every 10-12 months.

From what I have read, shedding can take anywhere from three weeks to two months. This is Shadows first shed and the first experience I have had with a shedding dog. Growing up my mom was always alergic to animals and so we had Standard Poodles (the big, graceful poodles not the small yappy kind) as pets.  Up until we found Shadow I would have said that I was also rather allergic to animals, touching them would always lead me to break out in a rash. I have yet to have a reaction to Shadow, and even now that there is hair ALL OVER our house, I am still allergy free. I'm not sure if this is due to his very course guard hairs, or whether I have simply developed an immunity to his coat. Either way I am rather happy to not be allergic to my dog.

The amount of hair that is coming off Shadow is pretty frightening. I brush him twice a day, and with each stroke of the brush a small sized dog is produced. At first it was funny, but now it's terrible frustrating as the hair is just everywhere. Whenever I look up I see little puffs of hairballs making their way across my floor in search of the perfect hiding spot. 

Here are the tools I have been using to help keep on top of the shedding. I'm hoping it ends soon and I can go back wearing my light coloured clothing again.

• ShedKiller (a 'Korean?' knock off of the popular furminator brush) which has a two sides; a thin toothed razor like brush and then a wider toothed comb
• Slicker Brush (I found this at my local vet)
• Rubber Grooming brush (bought at my local mart here in Korea)

I have has success with all three of these brushes at different stages of his shedding. When it first started a few weeks ago, the slicker brush worked fine. Then I found the slicker just spread the hairs and made them so static that they just flew around and were impossible to collect. The rubber brush works well when outside. I have been using the wide tooth comb over the last week as it really gets down deep into the undercoat to remove the clumps.

If using a brush like the furminator/shed killer (you can buy the Shedkiller here in Korea online through Gmarket by clicking here), when using the razor like end, be careful not to brush too hard. The razor can remove the guard hairs and end up pulling out too much of the top coat. A lot of husky owners recommend NOT using the furminator for this reason. But I find as long as I'm careful and work slowly, and don't use it more than once week it's been great with Shadow's coat. 

Shadow doesn't enjoy being brushed, in fact he always tries to go after my hand/the brush whenever it's time to groom him. As Jindo's are generally fastidious about their general coat cleanliness (they tend to groom themselves like cats) I have to be very sneaky, and arm myself with lots of treats to keep him occupied while I go to work. I have read that bathing is also recommended for shedding, but as my dog hates bath time I'd rather stick to the brushing for now. Let's hope it ends soon!

Do you have any tips for dog grooming? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Boseong Green Tea Fields

The Boseong Green Tea fields are a very popular tourist destination here in South Korea. With rolling green hills, a souvenir shop selling green tea ice cream and every other kind of green tea infused souvenir you can possibly think of, a trip to these fields is a must while here in Korea.

We headed to Boseong on Labor day in 2014. Labor day a public holiday for us English Teachers, but a normal working day for the rest of Korea. This means it is the ideal time to visit the tea fields, unless you like being around big crowds. It was an awful day for photographs really, harsh bright sunlight and lots of smog meant that most of my photographs came out looking so contrasty, hence the use of film filters below. Labor day falls in Spring, which is a really good time to visit as the fields are really lush.

There is a W4 000 entrance fee payable once you walk through a gorgeous avenue of cedar trees. There is also a restaurant, gift shop and ice cream stand near the entrance. These particular fields are part of the Daehan Dawon Tea Fields (there are loads of green tea plantations in Boseong) but these are the most famous.

The fields are open in Summer (Mar-Oct) from 09h00 - 19h00 and in Winter (Nov-Feb) from 09h00 - 18h00. 

How to Get There

From Boseong Bus Terminal take a local bus bound for Yulpo and get off at Daehan Dawon Bus Stop (don't worry about missing the stop, you'll see the fields as the bus drives past). 

763-43, Nokcha-ro, Boseong-eup, Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do 
전라남도 보성군 보성읍 녹차로 763-43

Happy Birthday Farmboy!

Today is my handsome Farmboy's birthday. This is his fourth birthday spent in South Korea (the first in 2010) and the last three have been since 2013. Tomorrow starts our final teaching contract and the last year countdown until we are back home in South Africa. It's going to be a good year!

This morning was celebrated with homemade cream cheese brownies (most definitely NOT Banting but very much birthday approved) tea and prezzies. #ShadowTheJindo has never been allowed on our bed...EVER...but he must have sensed it was a special day as he leaped up onto the covers to smother Farmboy in puppy kisses.

To my husband, my best friend and my partner in adventure...thank you for choosing to do life with me. For being so strong, so encouraging and just so darn cute with your jokes and your tricks that you constantly play on me. Life would be so boring without you in it and I look forward to all the birthdays and special days that lie ahead for us.