On December 19, 2000 we left Okinawa with two other couples for a holiday trip to Australia and Korea. On December 20, 2000 we stood on the banks of the most beautiful harbor I think I have ever seen. The Sydney opera house, with its towering bell shaped peaks was on one side and the arched Harbor Bridge was on the other. Small sailboats gently moved along in the slight breeze and larger ferries, full of people, floated over the calm waters toward the outer shores of the harbor. Palm trees graced the banks of the harbor and quiet walks meandered along the sides of the water. The sun made the water sparkle like it contained jewels. The temperature was a warm 85 degrees and the whole world seemed to be singing.

We left from Circular Quay and took one of the ferries across the harbor to Sydney's Taronga Zoo. The zoo is on a small hill overlooking the harbor, providing beautiful views of the Sydney skyline. In the zoo we viewed animals that I have never seen before. Because Australia is cut off from the world by water the species there have evolved into unique creatures only found on the continent. The Dingo, which looks like a wolf/dog, roamed freely in one area and a large black swan sat on the shore of a small pond. Of course we took considerable time with the kangaroos and koalas. What's a trip to Australia without visiting the kangaroos and koalas?

We took another ferry to Manly Beach. Manly Beach is on the Pacific Ocean and across the harbor from Sydney. Many Australians come to Manly Beach to vacation. It is rumored that nude bathing is the norm on Manly Beach. I guess that the holidays are different because we didn't see any nudes. Along the beach road are lovely condos, shops and restaurants overlooking the ocean. We bought some fish and chips at one of the restaurant and sat on the beach in the evening sun to enjoy our dinner.

The night sky in Australia is breath taking. I have never seen so many stars in one place. The constellation called the Southern Cross can only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the south's equivalent to the North Star. The Milky Way is so clear you think you are in a starchamber.

On December 30, 2000 we stood at the edge of the DMZ north of Seoul, Korea. The sky was gray and looked like it could snow any minute. The temperature was 35 degrees. The Korea soldiers, with their machine guns at their sides, followed our every move and forbid us from taking any pictures. The snow covered mountains on the other side of the DMZ looked cold and stark. At the foot of one mountain you could see a small village where the soldiers claim they watch as the north Koreans train children in war tactics. The trees were bare and the ground we stood on was covered with large rocks used to make a path for walking. The world looked dark and lonely and it seemed like all of life had stopped.

In 1945 Korea was divided by the North Korean Communists and the occupation of the USSR in the northern region and the South Korean Republic to the south. The Country remains divided today.

In the 1970's the South Koreans discovered three tunnels that were excavated by the North Koreans in their attempts to reclaim South Korea. The tunnels run from North Korean to South Korean under the DMZ. One of the tunnels is open for visitors and can be reached through a long, steep path that the South Koreans built to the tunnel. We entered the dark, steep path down to the tunnel. It felt like walking into a cave. The entrance leads you down 750 meters to a section of the tunnel that runs a total of 1,635 meters, 435 meters of which extend south of the demarcation line. When we asked how they could have excavated such a long, deep tunnel without being seen, we were told that they were using dynamite above the ground at the same time they were dynamiting below the ground so the below ground noise would be muffled. A defector who escaped in 1978 claimed that there were a total of nine tunnels under construction at the time he got out.

On the road to the tunnel we passed the Freedom Bridge built during the Korean War in 1950 to 1953 by the South Koreans. The bridge was erected for the North Koreans to cross over into safety. We also passed by a village the South Koreans call the propaganda village. It contains well-built structures and looks, from a distance, like a very nice village. At night the lights go on and in the morning the lights go off. The South Koreans claim that no one really lives there because you never see smoke for cooking or warmth. They claim that the North Koreans built the village as propaganda to make you think that the people of North Korean are living in comfort.

As I stood in the cold looking across the valley that is the DMZ to the mountains on the other side I couldn't stop wondering about the people who live there. How poor and cold their lives must be. How cut off from the world their existence. I wondered what kind of dwellings they sleep in and what they do for food.

The cold, snow covered mountains of the DMZ provided the Ying for the Yang of the Blue Mountains of Australia. The Blue Mountains get their name from the blue haze given off by the eucalyptus trees. There are over 30 different kinds of eucalyptuses in the mountains and over 180 species of birds.

On December 24, 2000 we took a two-hour train ride to Katoomba, a small town nestled in the Blue Mountains. We had already booked rooms in a small roadside motor lodge that advertised a bus service to town and surrounding tourist attractions. When we arrived at Katoomba we called the lodge from a phone at the train station expecting the bus to pick us up. June, the woman running the lodge, informed us that the bus was out of service but if we took a cab she would reimburse us. We needed two cabs to accommodate the six of us and our luggage.

When we arrived at the lodge June also informed us that most restaurants would be closing soon and would remain closed Christmas day and the day after which is also a holiday. (December 26, known, as Boxers Day is a day for you to box up the presents you received on Christmas that you really don't want and give them to charity.) I think she took pity on us when we she saw how disappointed and hungry we were. She told us she would cook us a barbecue for Christmas Eve dinner and she invited us to Christmas dinner with her family. She also arranged for a bus to pick us up and take us to the neighboring village of Leura so we could get some lunch.

We had lunch in a small café overlooking the scenic countryside of the Blue Mountains. We decided to rent a car since the bus was not running and we didn't want to spend our few days in the mountains in our motel rooms. We called the only car rental in town and were lucky enough to get the last car they had to rent. Since I happened to be the smallest person in our little group I got to squeeze in as the fourth person in the back seat of a small car. Thank goodness the trips to the sights were short.

Christmas Eve we enjoyed our streaks on the Barbie that June cooked for us. We met her son who took us to a local pub and introduced us to some of his friends. The singer in the pub was into American tunes from the 60's and 70's so we could sing along with him.

On Christmas Day, June, who was fast becoming a good friend, let us borrow her cooler so we could take a picnic lunch on our tour of the Blue Mountains. We set out to see the sights and what sights they were. We viewed the Three Sisters rocks, a large rock formation on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Jamison Valley known as one of Katoomba's most famous attractions. From the overpass we also had a spectacular view of the high rock canyon (Australia's version of the Grand Canyon) filled with eucalyptus trees, wild parrots of bright yellows and reds and flowing waterfalls that cascaded down the rocky slopes. We rode the scenic railway, located on the site of an abandoned coal mine. The railway was built in 1878 to carry coal from the valley. It is the world's steepest incline railway descending 415 meters at a maximum grade of 52 degrees into an ancient rainforest. We departed the railway at the bottom of the canyon and proceeded to walk through the rainforest.

The rainforest was quiet, dark, and cool - a stark contrast to the rocky cliffs high above. You could see only narrow rays of sunlight as it peaked through the ferns and vines and the tall eucalyptus trees. We saw a white parrot fly by with it mate and a bright red bird more brilliant than a cardinal. When our walk through the rainforest was over we took the sky tram back up to the top of the mountains.

Two of our group members were brave enough to trek down the canyon on foot to the Wentworth Falls. The rest of us viewed it from the top. The going down was not the bad part! We were worried about getting back up. While the two visited the falls and swam in the pool below the falls the rest of us took a nap on the grass-covered lawn surrounding the rock cliffs.

We returned to the lodge to enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner with June, her family and friends. She explained to us how Christmas has not been good for her since her husband died five years ago. She told us that cooking and sharing her Christmas dinner with us had made her year. We told her of our families far away and how she, with her hospitality and love had made our Christmas. I think we have a life long friend in Australia.

To be continued…