afterwards, christina and i walked through the park,  then spent the evening working out which route we were going to take north.

day 427 – pristina and kosovo, while nice, are a little dull. there wasn’t a lot to do. we went to the bus station to buy tickets to podgorica, had breakfast and returned to the hotel to pack and check out.

we walked into town to see ‘the sights’, which consisted of a small museum (which was shut), an abandoned church, an ugly university building and a few parks (which were nice). we had some ice cream and sat in the big park near our hotel. the park was full of people and kids playing. it seemed to be amongst the most popular places in pristina.

we went to the bus station early, bought some food and read our books while waiting for the bus to montenegro. when we got on the bus, a guy who spoke english (and seemed a little weird) sat near us and talked to us the entire time. i was getting really annoyed but held my calm (surprisingly). then, an hour into the trip, a guy checked our tickets and realised the crazy guy didn’t have a ticket. they booted him off the bus and we finally had some peace and quiet.

day 428 – we crossed the border early and arrived in podgorica at about 3am. tired, i went to sleep on the bus station floor for 4 hours. christina slept a little and then got up to buy tickets to sarajevo. i woke up and we had some breakfast which we had to carry on the bus because they’d been so slow to make the food.

we entered bosnia and the bus traveled through a stretch of the most beautiful mountain road i’ve ever seen. the whole trip i just gazed out the window and dreamed of riding through those roads on a motorbike.

the bus arrived in sarajevo and the terminal was out of town, so we caught the tram into the city to our hotel. i was tired as hell, so after lunch (burek) i had a shower and went to sleep at 4pm … i didn’t wake up until the next morning.

day 429 – after breakfast and coffee i felt much better … the 19 hours sleep also helped! we went to the train station and bought tickets to zagreb. we got the tram back to the centre of town and walked up to the martyr’s cemetary.

the siege of sarajevo is the longest city siege in history. the cemetary is devoted to those who gave their lives fighting for sarajevo. all around the city there are still bullet holes and shell marks from the bombing over 15 years ago. the martyr’s cemetary still has a full-time guard of honour and it was nice to walk around.

up the hill from the cemetary is a great viewing point of the city. christina and i sat up there for a while and talked while we looked across sarajevo. we could see all the way to the airport. it was a great view. after that we walked through the old city, to the mosques, bascarsija, pigeon square and up to the catholic cathedral. near the cathedral some old men were playing chess on an enormous chess set. i stood and watched them for a while. they were enthralled by the game and it would have been fun to play. i got some photos, though, and we kept going.

after lunch we took a long walk along the river. on the way back we stopped for a beer and then dinner. after dark, we went for another walk down to the latin bridge to take photos.

day 430 – we had breakfast and checked out. we left our luggage at the hotel (which we had to pay for). we got the tram out to the famous sarajevo tunnel, which ran underneath the airport during the siege and was a literal lifeline for bosnians living in the city.

on the way back to town we stopped at the museum, which was quite expensive, so we gave it a miss. instead we walked around the old city some more and looked at the jewelry stores. we had lunch, walked along the river and looked in the apple store.

in the afternoon we collected our bags and went to the train station to wait. i complained to the ticket office woman about the ticket and exchange rate we’d paid and she gave us a discount on the fare, which was nice. we had some coffee, changed the last of our bosnian money, and got the train to zagreb. on the train another tourist told us that we could sit in the 1st class section, so we moved up and found a compartment all to ourselves and slept on the seats. nifty!

it was cold and my clothes were starting to become wet from melted snow. i retreated to the internet cafe for a while to warm up, then i returned to the snow and took more photos. i bought some food and returned to my hotel to let my clothes dry out and read my book. i finished the book in the evening, packed and slept.

day 347 – there had been no flights out of leh for the past three days, due to the bad weather. so when i went to bed the previous night, i secretly feared that the poor weather would continue and i’d be stuck in leh. being stuck in leh isn’t so bad actually, but i wanted to keep moving and was keen to reach kashmir. when i woke up it was still dark, but i went outside and looked at the night sky – it was dotted with stars and i knew that the weather had cleared.

i packed and left my hotel right on dawn. i walked into the main street but there was nobody awake yet and no taxis. i managed to get a ride with some airport workers and arrived in time for my flight.

the flight was delayed by five hours because the airport officials hadn’t been able to clear the runway of snow from the previous day. surprisingly, they had no snow-clearing equipment and the local army had come in to clear the runway using shovels. during the long wait i got talking to a couple of kashmiri guys who work in leh but live in srinigar. we talked about india, cricket, islam, kashmir and numerous other things. it passed the time and i was happy.

eventually we got on board the plane and flew to srinigar. i’d already arranged a houseboat and guide, who was waiting for me, so i was quickly whisked off to dal lake to my houseboat, some food and hot tea. on the way to the houseboat i couldn’t help but notice the enormous number of soldiers lining the streets, supported by vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. i started to worry that maybe it wasn’t as safe as i first thought, but the guide reassured me that it was just a regular sight in srinigar, especially when some kind of event was coming up – like the planned strike on the following day.

the houseboat was really nice and i enjoyed sitting in the warm room with food and drink. i found out that the owner, who is a kashmiri muslim man, has a french wife. i talked with the owner’s son for a while and after dinner the french wife appeared. she introduced herself with a huge reefer in her hand and asked “do you want to smoke?”.

her name was victoria and she was actually the owner’s second wife (his first wife is also kashmiri) and they all live together on the houseboats which he inherited from his father. we talked for quite a while and i got some sleep.

day 348 – i spent the morning relaxing on the houseboat. the boat was warm from the fire in my room (inside a huge stove) and the gas burner in the living room. i ate and talked with the owner, mohammad, and organised a four day itinerary to see srinigar and the kashmir valley. i talked with victoria a little bit, drank some great coffee, and walked into town.

everything in town was shut due to some local strike, so i walked for a bit and had a snack at a local tibetan restaurant. nearby was an internet cafe, so i also checked my email. i returned on dusk and spent the quiet evening watching a movie on my computer.

day 349 – i had breakfast and then went on a long two hour boat ride around dal lake. dal lake is enormous there are thousands of houseboats scattered around it. parts of the lake have small islands and these often contain shops, mosques and schools. we went through some canals and saw the old city side of the lake. the place is amazing and it was nice to look around and see the whole thing.

afterwards i spent some time editing and backing up photos (which i hadn’t done since ladakh). then i went into town to withdraw money. i had a coffee, checked email again and returned to the boat. i edited some more photos and went to bed.

day 350 – today i got an early start and we drove out to kashmir valley and the city of pahalgan. i rented a horse and rode to the top of the hills which had a great view of kashmir and the valley itself. i took a break at the top and had some coffee. there were a few vendors there and i had the chance to go sledding. instead, i followed the sledders and took photos.

i rode back down and returned to the car. i had some lunch and then visited a hindu temple called ‘the fish temple’. inside the temple is a small lake which comes down from the mountain. fish live in the lake and it’s part of the temple’s long history. the place wasn’t very interesting though, except for the fish, so we kept going and wandered around some ruins of another hindu temple which are 1100 years old. the local caretaker was keen to guide me around (i knew he’d want money) but i scorned him for how dirty the place was – littered with cigarettes and firecracker paper. he blamed the local kids, but i didn’t care since he was the caretaker and it should have been his responsibility … not to mention the fact that the site was looked after by the indian archaeological society.

indians have a way of saying ‘as you wish’ when they want money. it’s supposed to mean ‘pay me as much as you wish’ or ‘you decide how much to give as a tip’ … of course, they’re never happy with the amount of the tip and will always suggest more. i’d become fed up with indian baksheesh and, since i hadn’t asked for the guided tour, walked off without paying any tip at all.

we returned to srinigar and when i returned to the houseboat a floating store (a paddle boat acting as a shop) came by. i bought some snacks for the evening, edited some more photos, had dinner, watched a movie and slept.

leh was sunny but cool and my first impressions were of a beautiful town. i found my hotel and walked around the markets and the main street. the town is small and it didn’t take long to wander around nearly the entire village. being cold i figured that i needed to get myself a warmer jacket and did a little shopping, but the prices were high and i was disappointed. i figured i’d try again the next day.

i couldn’t do much today, since the risk of ams is high on the first day after flying to a high altitude, so i got some thukpa for dinner and rested in my room.

day 342 – i walked into town and decided that i needed a jacket regardless of the cost. i found a store and managed to haggle a good price. i also bought a beanie. then i went for a walk up the hill to the old leh palace and soma gompa. further up the hill was namgyal tsemo gompa, which had a great view of the town.

i walked back down the hill and into the main street. i found an internet cafe and checked my email. i had thukpa for dinner again and returned to my hotel before it got dark (and too cold).

day 343 – today i went on a driving tour of leh and the surrounding area. being winter there are no tourists and little business. i’m the only guest at my hotel and the owner offered to take me on the tour himself. we visited 4 of the district’s major temples. shay gompa was really nice and at thiksay gompa a young important lama had been invited to give talks to the monks. the monastery was full of people – monks were listening to the talks and buddhists were sitting outside listening via speakers. there were so many people, but they were all sitting quietly and sharing tea. i drank some tea too and looked around.

hemis gompa was hidden high up in the hills and it took a while to get there. the roads were icy but the scenery was amazing. the gompa was mostly empty but it turns out that my guide and hotel owner is very well known amongst the locals and is prominent in the buddhist community. in fact, he’s met the dalai lama several times. so whenever we arrived somewhere, tea was served, doors were unlocked and we were invited to watch and participate in the local celebrations.

the last temple was stok and we arrived at the beginning of a 49 day mourning ceremony for an old lama who’d died. monks had been invited from as far as bhutan to perform rituals and chant to bless the lama. we were invited inside and got to sit with the monks while they chanted and prayed. i sat quietly and respectfully, sometimes taking a photo or two, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the scene. actually, i kicked myself that i hadn’t thought to bring my mp3 player which is able to record sound. it would have been nice to keep a recording of the chanting.

we returned to leh and i walked back to the main street to check email again. i had a quick dinner (more thukpa) and got some sleep.

day 344 – i woke up to find leh covered in snow. it had snowed during the night and the entire town was white. most of the shops were shut (because it was sunday, not because of the snow) so there wasn’t much i could do. i walked around town and wandered through the tibetan market. much of it was shut too, during the tourist off-season, but some stalls were still open. actually, when i was in goa i discovered that many kashmiri and ladakhi people head south during winter to make money. many of them work in the goan markets or in hotels then return north again for the summer tourist season. obviously though, some people remain in ladakh and tried to make the most of the winter season.

the internet cafe was warm so i devoted an hour catching up on chess. i grabbed some food and returned to the hotel. actually, nights are really cold in ladakh, so i was always keen to get home before dark and crawl into my warm bed to read.

day 345 – i had breakfast in town and returned to the tibetan market. more was open this time and i bought a ‘save tibet’ tshirt and some long underwear. i walked to chowkhang gompa, which is hidden in the middle of town, and walked north of the village to find the korean monastery. the monastery must be small because i couldn’t find it. but i enjoyed the long walk and photographed some kids sliding down the ice slopes. leh also has an outdoor ice skating rink, so i watched the local kids skate and play ice hockey.

the evening was really cold and i finally gave in and got a heater for my room. up to now i’d been surviving without one, but the days were getting colder and there was more snow around. i also grabbed a book from the hotel library, paulo cohelo’s ‘the zahir’, which i read in my now-warm room.

i headed into town for another wander around the streets. i had dinner at a street stall and bought an assortment of junk to eat in the evening; chocolate fudge, a giant apple, a hot corn cob and beer.

day 317 – i was woken up by someone talking on a loud speaker at 3am. at first i thought it was prayers from the nearby mosque, but it sounded different. it could have been some buddhist sermon or something else … i don’t know. it was quite loud and took me a while to get back to sleep.

i woke up later, had breakfast and checked out. i checked my email then got a taxi to the airport. my flight to india was business class (yay!) so i spent the free time in the vip lounge drinking beer, eating snacks and watching bbc news.

the flight to india started late and, due to the stopover in gaya, arrived in kolkata in the early evening. it was dark by the time my taxi reached sudder street and many of the guesthouses were booked solid. i ended up staying in a dorm, with three other koreans. i bought a lonely planet india, had dinner and slept.

day 318 – i changed hotels in the morning, returning to hotel maria – an old favourite from my previous trip to india. i walked around the markets, withdrew some money and bought myself a train ticket to mumbai.  i mailed some packages to korea and australia, then found a bookshop and acquired a copy of ’1984′ by george orwell. i had been wanting to re-read it and snagged a copy very cheaply.

i headed back to the market, looked around some more, and spent some time online. i returned to my room and started the book. i bought some delicious kimchi bokeumbab for dinner from the street stall outside, read some more and went to bed.

day 319 – i had breakfast and checked my email. then i devoted a few hours to finding a sleeping bag. i had no luck and decided to leave it until i got to mumbai. i returned to the same bookstore i’d gone to the previous day. this time the owner showed me some rare and expensive books he had for sale. some were beautiful, but there was no way i could buy them. i picked up a copy of ‘around the world in 80 days’ by jules verne. it’s an old classic that i’d never had a chance to read. i also got a book on buddhist dharma for free.

i walked through the market, had a great beef masala for dinner, then returned to the hotel to read and sleep.

day 320 – after a cold shower, i checked out of my hotel. the train to mumbai was late, so i had all day to kill. i had breakfast and continued reading 1984. then i spent some time online playing chess and chatting. in the afternoon i got some take-away kimchi bikeumbab from the same restaurant, jumped in a taxi and headed to the train station. i ate dinner on the platform, read my book and waited for the train.

the train departed and i read for a little while longer before going to sleep.

story: customs and the battery pack.

during my first trip to burma, i dropped my camera on some concrete and cracked the camera housing. as a result, the battery compartment sits loosely and the battery doesn’t always connect. the camera is out of warranty and i don’t think there are many options for getting it fixed. honestly, i’m probably going to have to replace the camera. i don’t want to spend that much money, so i came up with a solution: use my battery pack.

it was a simple, good idea. i emailed my friend in korea who is holding some gear for me. he agreed to send the battery pack via dhl to burma, where i could pick it up. a mutual friend in burma would receive the pack, hold it for me, and i could collect it upon my arrival.

and thus, a problem arose. the battery pack was valued at $60 (actually it’s worth $150, but that’s irrelevant). burma’s customs (ie government) said that any item over $50 requires an import licence. this ridiculous rule is accompanied by the rule that any items that aren’t permitted will be automatically confiscated, rather than being returned to sender, in accordance with international laws … i guess when your government is a dictatorship and you’re under economic sanctions, you don’t really have to care about anything else.

after a lot of wrangling, arguing, cajoling, talking, emailing and begging, dhl agreed to try and help me get the battery case. i was blaming dhl for the problem (since they didn’t warn us that this would happen) and eventually they got me to fill out some forms, which they took to customs. they convinced customs to release the battery pack and i collected it (after paying $12 for “fees”).

i was glad to get the battery pack, but really annoyed at how this could happen.

that evening i had dinner with u myo aung, the friend who’d been trying to help me collect the battery pack. i had also agreed to meet the koreans for beers on the balcony (to celebrate new years). however, i fell asleep and missed new years in burma. damnit!

day 307 – new years day - i went to the indian embassy and submitted my visa application. then i faxed the documents required by dhl. i walked around town, had some ice cream and returned to my hotel. i bought a bus ticket to mandalay, then spent a few hours drinking beer on the balcony, lying in a hammock, reading my zusak book.

later, i walked around the markets and bought a pair of cheap sunglasses. i had noodles and sugar cane juce for dinner. when i got back to the hotel, dhl called and told me that customs had released my package.

day 308 – i had a big breakfast and walked to the dhl office to pick up my battery pack. i walked around the flight agencies to figure out an itinerary for getting to india. i also went to the train station to get prices for trains from mandalay.

i packed, checked out, and got a taxi to the bus station (which is a long way out of town, for some stupid reason). i had dinner, chatted with the locals (who rarely see foreigners) and got the bus to mandalay.

the trip was really uncomfortable. it’s the middle of winter and they insisted on using the air conditioning on the bus … at full blast. the music and shitty burmese dramas were also playing at full blast on the tv. i was freezing cold and at a break stop i convinced the driver to turn off the a/c.

day 309 – the bus was still cold and i managed to borrow a blanket. i finally got some sleep and arrived in mandalay early in the morning. i got on the back of a bike for the cold trip into town, found my hotel, checked in, curled up in the warm blankets and got some more sleep.

i must have been tired, and i know i was on the verge of getting sick, since i slept all day. i had a hot shower and returned to bed, sleeping all night.

day 310 – i woke up feeling good. i had breakfast and walked around the early morning market. i bought two longyes and a long sleeved shirt. i had some coffee and went to the train station to inquire about tickets. it turns out that i can only by tickets one day in advance, so i had to return later.

i bought some razors, soap, shampoo and organised a ride to amapura (ubein bridge). arriving at amapura i hired a boat, walked across the bridge, checked out the little temple on the other side, and hit the water to get my sunset shots. the sunset was awesome and i got a bundle of good photos.

after dusk i returned to the banks of the lake and bought a tshirt. i also discovered that my driver was drunk and didn’t want to return to mandalay. i paid him less than agreed, but still enough to keep him satisfied. i got on a horse cart to the main road and rode in a pick up truck to town. it was a long ride and i was a little annoyed at my driver. but i wasn’t too bothered, and returning to town i had a beer with dinner, then went to bed.

when i got back to kl central i had lunch and checked the ticket. the ticket said 9pm departure, not 1pm (which i’d asked for). damnit! i returned to the ticketing counter and asked for a 1pm train. the train was sold out and the staff were unwilling, and unable, to help. having no other choice, i sat at starbucks to wait it out. i plugged in my computer, used the free wifi and chatted for seven hours.

i finally got the train to singapore. i bought some magazines (442 and national geographic) which actually came in handy for the trip.

day 292 – we arrived at singapore immigration early, finished quickly and continued on to singapore’s main station. i had breakfast nearby and walked into town. on the way across town i found a nice buddhist temple, which is fairly new, and took some photos. i had a coffee at mcdonalds and while at the department store i found a cool little photography book shop … that’s all they sell – photography books. he had an awesome steve mccurry portrait book which i bought.

i walked across to the hotel to check in and went to a market for lunch. i then mailed the book to christina.

i walked around a market and took some photos. i had a lot of fun. wandering around near my hotel i also found a flea market. it was mostly junk placed on blankets. i walked around the stalls, looking at their wares. i considered buying a buddhist statue but it was too expensive and i didn’t want to haggle.

i had dinner and a few beers at the hotel then went to bed.

day 293 – i checked out early and started the walk back across town to meet my train. i stopped by the famous raffle’s hotel and had a beer at the long bar. nearby was a subway station so i decided to experience singapore trains. i got off near the international terminal, had lunch and boarded the train back to kuala lumpur.

the trip was uneventful and i returned late. i checked in and had dinner at the same street cafe (with the burmese waiters) as before.

day 294 – i went to kl central, had a quick mcdonalds coffee/muffin breakfast, and got the bus to the airport. the girl at the checkin counter wanted to charge me extra because my bag was 2kg over the 15kg limit. i took out my computer and lonely planet guide. the bag was now 15kg and she let me check it in. i mentioned that my total gear weight was the same, i was just carrying the extra 2kg on with me. she didn’t appreciate the point (or the irony) and just grumbled at me.

i checked email while i waited for the plane then flew to kota kinabalu.

i waited ages for the bus, which didn’t come, when i discovered that there was no bus. i had to walk outside and down the street to find the bus which, when it arrived, took me to town.

i found a nice guesthouse, checked in, checked email and walked into town for dinner. i stumbled onto an environmentalist event which was raising money for sabah’s environmental groups. i had dinner, a few beers, and took a few photos. i got talking to another tourist from canada. her name was chantelle and, coincidentally, was working in korea. she’d just flown in and was beginning her holiday. we drank margaritas and long island ice tea. we got very drunk and danced a lot.

we met up with a bunch of other foreigners who were going to a club called ‘razamataz’. we joined up with them (i spent most of the time talking to a cute black girl called sharon) and drank some more there. i returned home and absolutely crashed.

day 295 – i had a hangover and slept in, then spent the morning at the hostel playing chess. at lunch time i walked around the street market and took a great photo of an old beggar woman. i went to the boardwalk, walked around, and checked some travel agents (which were all closed).

i returned to the hotel and played chess and chatted for most of the evening.

that night, we went to suncorp stadium to watch the brisbane roar vs central coast mariners (a-league soccer). we bought some food and lamented as brisbane lost 0-3 … lousy brisbane.

day 232 – i made a decision to abandon windows completely and only use linux. the decision was part of a long term strategy which would help me avoid the ridiculous re-installs required if windows went bung. linux is easy to install and runs faster on my netbook.

so, i decided to return the cd reader. in the morning we picked up inyoung and her sister from the airport. on our way out we saw one of those massive luxury ocean liners docked near the city. we stopped and had a look around, marvelling at how immensely huge the damn things are. it was a very nice looking ship. after that we headed to garden city to return the cd reader. we had breakfast first and craig found a bug in his salad. we got a discount on the food (yay!).

when i returned the cd reader i told them it hadn’t even been opened (i lied, i did open it). at first the clerk wanted to give me a store credit, but he was nice enough to give me a full refund instead. we returned home and spent the afternoon lazing about.

day 233 – i spent the day at home doing work online.

day 234 – i spent the day at home, again.

day 235 – inyoung’s sister was planning to return to korea, so we organised a barbeque dinner at craig’s parents’ house (to say farewell). we headed over after lunch and we spent the afternoon chatting. craig’s dad and i picked macadamia nuts in the back yard and when craig arrived, he and i washed the car.

i gave craig’s parents the photo, which they liked, and we started the barbeque. it’s been a long time since i’ve had a real aussie bbq. the food was great and we downed a lot of beer. a good time was had by all.

dinner was pizza and wine … and a nice buzz … and sleep.

day 212 – today i spent the morning at home and then visited my kepco colleagues for lunch. i arrived just on lunchtime and we all went out to a chinese restaurant. it was good to sit and chat with everyone again. we had a nice time. after the lunch we all went back and had coffee in the office. i stayed for about an hour and then went home. i spent the afternoon online and doing some packing.

day 213 – i spent a lazy day at home, doing work online and packing. in the evening i met tom and aaron again. it was my last chance to see them for a very long time, so we had some beers and a few laughs. at the bar there was a really drunk american guy who kept getting thrown out but kept coming back. the guy was an arse and eventually the police came to sort things out.

day 214 – i finished packing my bags and waited for christina. she planned to finish early and go with me to the airport. we got the bus to incheon, had a coffee together in the airport, said our goodbyes, and i boarded the plane for my flight home to australia.

it was an overnight flight and i didn’t get much sleep. i watched ‘night at the museum 2′ to pass the time and dozed a little.

day 215 – today was a momentous day. my plane touched down in sydney airport, marking my first time on australian soil in eight years. i was actually a little nervous about returning to australia … i don’t know why though.

i arrived in sydney and went through the immigration routines. actually, the arrival card mentioned that i had to declare dried fruits (as well as numerous other things). i did have dried fruit, so rather than risk getting into trouble … australian quarantine are ridiculously strict … i declared it and after a brief check i was through the door and on my way to domestic transfers.

i had to rush to get my flight to brisbane, but made it on time. craig was supposed to be at the airport to pick me up, but i couldn’t find him. i only had large notes and didn’t even have enough change to call. so i waited around for over half an hour. i considered buying a coffee so that i could get change, but i saw craig (finally) and we headed off.

we drove to craig’s house and then to his parents’ house in ipswich. i dumped my gear and had a short nap. that evening was a special dinner leading up to the wedding. craig’s parents were meeting inyoung’s family for the first time. so we all went out to a nice thai restaurant (i came for moral support). the dinner went well and we all returned home to crash.

in the evening i joined a group of people for dinner and beers in town. we walked down to a nice bar and had some beer. while we were there the bar manager asked us to move to a different table, since he had a bigger group and needed the space. i asked him for some free food as recompense, and he sent a few plates of snacks to our table. we were really happy and stayed longer, drinking more beer.

then we all walked up to the czech restaurant near our hotel. we ate some dinner and drank more beer. we talked until late and i got to bed quite late.

day 197 – today was my last day in mongolia. i was short on cash and didn’t want to withdraw more. so i stayed at the hostel and did work online. i packed my bags and had a final beer at the czech restaurant. my computer was playing up again, which was annoying, so i didn’t have much else to do. i had a shave (which i badly needed) and went to bed.

day 198 – i was up before dawn to get to the airport and catch my plane. i checked in and during the security check the stupid security bitch took my chopsticks. she told me that they were pointy, and thus dangerous. i mentioned that the two pens in my bag were more pointy, but she ignored me.

i walked through to the waiting are and decided to spend the last of my money. as i was looking around i saw chopsticks for sale in the souvenir store. i cursed the security woman again. i bought a leather bookmark and boarded the plane.

i flew to seoul and christina was late to pick me up. we got the bus into seoul and i dumped my gear. then i headed to the hp service centre to get my computer fixed. i also stopped into the bank and went for a walk around coex.

day 199 – i spent the morning relaxing and went back to hp to pick up my computer in the afternoon. on the way i dropped in at technomart and looked around coex. then i took the computer home to reinstall software.

day 200 – although today was my 200th day on the road, it was spent inauspiciously. i stayed at home and played on the computer, updating software and other stuff.