When Will I See You Again

The journey has been very tough and long as I continue to struggle with recovery. However I have surrendered to fate with no regrets. I was born into a privileged family in Thailand and have lived a very good life that I treasure till today. The mental pain is just temporary when one measures the 21 years of happiness being together. 

My mental health issues have been a big challenge for me daily. 

Cancer + Divorce = Depression. 

There is no remedy or medications for this except my own strengths and willpower to fight on. 

Life is just a journey for all of us. It comes with happiness, sadness, pain and sickness therefore acceptance is a choice. I believe I will see light at the end of the tunnel again. 

I am just like a flower. Someday I will wither and fade away, for nothing is permanent in life. 

Thank you very much for always being around to cheer me up till today. 

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Selamat Hari Raya at Hospital

Today is the first day of Hari Raya and I have been admitted to hospital since Monday. It was just my usual next appointment for the new irinotecan chemo treatment on Monday when my oncologist felt that I have lost too much weight and was too frail for the next injection. This stronger irinotecan chemo seems to have worked well and brought my tumour markers down by hundreds. I have finally lost almost all the hair on my head too. So I just checked into the ward fully unexpected and have been given liquid food IV 24/7 as my weight has dropped to a dangerous 58kgs! So far I have been attended to by the oncologist, gastroenterologist and a dietician.

I hope to be discharged by tomorrow or latest Friday. 

Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin. 

*****

Blog Under Construction

Life has been toughest as I am still struggling with recovery for over 2 years now since my colorectal surgery and grapple with my mental health issues. I am coping with the new chemotherapy of the stronger irinotecan treatment which causes me daily diarrhea and hair loss. Even Hercules could give up in such toughest battles but I am still smiling and meeting customers looking like a scare crow suffering from anorexia. That's me! 

Last Night In Busan (Part 3)

I was like having a whirlwind romance with the city of Busan. Many heartfelt thanks to my Korean best friend for driving me all the way from Seoul to enjoy the best sightseeing around Busan. He drove along the stretch of coastal roads for me to enjoy the panoramic view where all the big & small beautiful homes lined the sea cliffs and face the breathtaking ocean. These precious and good memories will last me a lifetime.

Poongwonjang Restaurant

No.38 Marine City 2-ro, U-dong, Haeundae-gu,

Busan, South Korea.

My friend brought me to a famous restaurant that served traditional Korean seafood dishes. It is located along the coastal area.

The minute I entered the entrance, I was greeted by a cozy ambiance of many blooming flowers of Spring. The myriad of beautiful colours and the pine wooden floor to the ceiling was a sight to behold.

The owner loves flowers! It was my first time seeing orange tulips.

There are many private rooms there with about 6 tables each.

My friend browsed through the thick menu and ordered on the recommendation of the Lady Captain. The array of food was served very fast with all the heating stoves started up for the broths. It was nice to drink tasty hot broths in cold weather.

Look! My eyes went very big & wide as the waiters could not stop serving the many appetizing plates of main dishes and banchan (side dishes). I looked at my smiling friend who gestured me to eat without hesitation. The plates, bowls & saucers totaled over 25 pieces in the end! It was the most delicious Korean lunch I ever had. I am thankful for my good karma to eat good food and have good friends.

I always remembered what my Korean friends taught me in America. The host expects the guests to enjoy eating non stop and drinking alcohol merrily with much loud noise, laughter and carnival like. You will also see alcohol being served for well wisher guests at all the funerals in South Korea.

My stomach was too full with all my intestines almost bursting at the seams. I ran to the toilet to empty my old shit bowels. I wanted to cry and faint as the toilet was at the very far opposite end.

Hwangnyeonsan Mountain

My friend wanted to show me the night view of the whole Busan City. He chose the late evening to start driving up to the summit which took 15 minutes.

We almost reached the peak and he had to stop because he wanted to smoke!

 The skies were enveloped in thick mists which gave a blurry view.

We proceeded to continue driving up to the peak, only to be greeted by many flowers on both sides.

This is the Mount Hwangnyeonsan Observatory where there is a big cafe for visitors to drink and admire the Busan City's night view below.

We ordered coffee and it started to rain heavily! I was patient and very optimistic that heavens would open up the skies for me after the downpour.

Beautiful Busan City at night with all the glittering lights.



****

Busan Attractions (Part 2)

Busan is a very interesting city with many attractions. I did not visit all the places that trip because I have plans to visit again in near future when my wife goes mountain hiking with her gang of hikers. I am not welcomed to join the hikers because I was slow like a tortoise. The last time we hiked up Mount Kinabalu, she finished in 4.5 hours before lunch. I took over 9 hours to reach the top when the skies turned pitched dark with the moon laughing at me. So damn malu!! You wanna hear the reasons?

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Address: 86 Yonggung-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea.

This popular idyllic temple sits by the rocky seaside that offers very spectacular view of the whole ocean and natural landscaping of beautiful rocks. There are plenty of steps to navigate yourself to visit this place, so your knees should be strong.

They are rated as "The Most Beautiful Temple in Korea" as all the temples are located high on mountains but this one sits by the hilly rocks and overlooks the sea.

This ancient temple was first built by the Great Buddhist Teacher named Naong in the year 1376, during the Goryeo Dynasty.

You can spend hours alone to admire the peaceful scenery with the huge rolling waves splashing on the rocks. It really calmed my feelings. The waves took away my blues and whatever sadness into the ocean very faraway. Busan has many beautiful rocky areas by the sea for us to check it out.

The main Mahavira hall of the temple.

The monk was reciting some prayers inside the hall.

 My Korean friend sat and waited for me patiently wherever I went. 

That's what best friends are for.

I think that statue is the Bodhisatva Di Zang Wang Pusa by judging on the long pole that he carries. He was a Royal Prince from Korea who went to do his cultivation in the Mount Jiuhua in Anhui China. This Bodhisatva's statues can be seen widely all over Japan, China, Taiwan including Malaysia. I visited the pagoda where his body was kept in China. You can see it HERE.

There is a tall pagoda outside the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. 

Can you spot the 2 Love Birds??

The 2 Love Birds.

Gamcheon Culture Village

Address: Gamnae 2-ro, Saha-gu, Busan.

That's my friend who drove me up the hilly slopes of Busan to see the amazing "Santorini" village. 

The whole village was once the poorest slum area since the Korean War. Today it has magically turned into a top tourist area with so many colourful streets, corners and cafes for good photography. They have endless of Artistic Walls, Sculptures and Murals. I am just showing you the monkey side of me. 

So many Korean lady-wannabes wearing their pretty traditional "Hanbok".

Please remember that this whole Gamcheon Village consists of all clustered houses stacked up on the hilly slopes with tiny winding steps. My friend being a heavy smoker was gasping for his breaths and dear life, climbing the winding stairs. It was amazing to see how the Korean families lived there.

We found a roof top of a cafe to peek the view of Gamcheon Village but it was not the right angle.

I went up to the stage to sing Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock".

So we had to walk down all over again and walked up other narrow steps to find the right place. We failed again and had to drive the car to another side of the big hill.

Now this angle looked more interesting.

I found the perfect spot!

My postcard photo. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

***

Attractions in Busan - South Korea (Part 1)

Attractions in Busan - Haeundae Beach, Juk Seong Church & Bulgogi Dinner

My Korean best friend Lee Joon Sung drove me from Seoul all the way to Busan which is 325 kilometres away. His wife who is a Korean bank's president insisted that he must show me around Korea with the best VIP treatment which included top notch lunches and dinner! The journey took over 4 hours in his big comfortable car with several stops along the way. We had a long talk with endless silly jokes to rekindle the time we both lived in the haunted dormitory at Point Park College. He used to call his girlfriend (wife now) in Korea from USA everyday until his phone bill ran over USD$1000 per month! No kidding!! My friend smoked non stop while driving and poor me had to inhale all the 2nd hand smoke! Cough! Cough!

We visited this famous Juk Seong Dream Church which is located at Gijang-gun in Busan. It was specially built just as a concrete prop for a SBS Korean Drama called "Dream". It has become a tourist attraction today for its scenic rocky location and panoramic view of the ocean. 

Busan is the busiest & largest port in South Korea and has direct ferry to Japan's Kyushu Islands because they are pretty close!

 Ahem!   Look at this Korean Opah posing on the rock. Do you think I should start acting?

The side view of the Juk Seong Church.

The 'small church' is often used for Art Exhibits or Community Services. There is no church pews, altar or prayers here. 

  

The Spring weather was nice, chilly and sunny.

This is the aerial view of how this unique church was built just for a TV drama series. (I borrowed this photo from TripAdvisor.)

This photo shows the filming of the "Dream" TV drama. Have you watched it??

Finally, I got my feet into the sand and sea water at the most famous Haeundae Beach! 

Yoohoo!

So many movies and dramas have been shot at this scenic playground of the Rich and Famous.. My other Korean room mate Lee Seung Woo lives in this swanky area and I was guessing which condo belonged to him. That night I would have the chance to ask him over dinner.

All the most expensive South Korea's ocean front luxury condos and multi million dollar homes are lined here along Haeundae Beach! It reminds me of the Malibu Beach and Pacific Palisades in California. I could only look-see and dream on.

My roommate Seung Woo hosted the dinner and insisted that we must eat Bulgogi. He boasted that the best Bulgogi in whole of South Korea and the world is only available in Busan. I looked at him in real disbelief.

I used their traditional fragrant Perilla Leaves to wrap the marinated grilled beef, paste, garlic and onions. Wow!!! The taste was really fantastic with its natural sweetness and juice flowing out! It was non stop eating for me the whole night. You must try it when you visit Busan.

My roommate is still an alcoholic today while my other best friend is still a heavy chain smoker! That night we drank many bottles of the famous Chef Baek Jong Won's Soju.

My happy reunion with the 2 Korean Opahs. The left guy is my roommate whose late father owned many office blocks in Seoul's posh Gangnam area. He was such a pampered only son and his mother had to give him 'wake up' calls from Seoul everyday as no alarm clock could wake him up for school. I also gave up waking him in the mornings until he missed so many classes with bad attendance in America! So I had to pick up his mother's phone call every morning at sunrise and threw the cordless phone at him on the next bed beside me. That's how I learnt to speak the most polite Korean language and greetings as I had to address a very filthy rich mother.

*****