After going on a skiing trip where I didn't almost kill myself in Gangwon-Do, the most untouched of Korea's provinces, some friends and I took a drive to a nearby cave system.
Ooh pretty.
Gangwon showing just a little bit of it's beauty.
Stopped off to take some photos of the prettiness.
A lot of attractions, festivals and even towns here in Korea have their own mascots. This cave system was not one to shy away from this and so adopted a friendly mountain wearing a fashionable rainbow sash, raindrop booties and possessing an ability to shoot stars out of his thumb (only the one) as their mascot.
Howdy!
We also encountered the dramatic 'last toilet'. I don't know what happened to the rest of them. Actually, it's the last toilet before the hour or so you spend in the caves.
Post apocalyptic movie idea?
Into the caves we went, and oh was it impressive. They had big light up staircases...
The fearless Andrew.
big light up archways...
The part of the caves aimed towards kids. There was a museum of mining in another part.
and even big light up walkways to observe the frankly massive cave we were in.
I said 'wow' a fair few times.
These caves are also home to some frankly terrifying rocks. I touched it and it was wet but not as wet as you would expect (unless you are a rock expert in which case I expect you would know what to expect).
Looks... sloppy.
Before we headed home, we stopped off at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere and I ate a hot stone pot bibimbap - rice and veg with hot sauce. Oh how I do like that crispy rice. Oh how I do.
"Like the Great Wall of China.... but Korean" - Hannah Cho
I woke up nice and early, prepared myself for hiking in a pair of too tight jeans, long heavy coat and a man bag (yes, I said hiking) and set off for Namhansanseong, a fortress and surrounding wall. It's a two hour journey from the humble town of Unseo (all still on the Seoul subway system mind - it's amazing!) but off I plodded with fellow Incheonite Meg and a couple of rolls of kimbap (rice and veg rolled up in seaweed - yummers!)
Along the way, we met up with my co-teacher Hannah who had also brought three rolls of kimbap with her (kimbap was to be the main meal for the day, not that I'm complaining) and by 11 o'clock we'd arrived at the bus stop to take us the final leg of the journey.
The next few hours consisted of waiting for buses, giving up on buses, buying cucumbers, eating fried chicken and being followed by lost tourists when we were going the wrong way ourselves. By two o'clock, we made it to the mountain itself.
Along the way, we passed some strong rock piles...
Some lovely leaves (autumn is truly here!)...
And saw the fortress south gate...
Then we took a walk along the wall...
And saw this lovely ruin (with added cannon holes). I said it a lot on the day and I will say it again... if they cut that grass this would be a lovely place for a wedding!
but really... it would...
We sat on the far wall of that building for a while, soaking up the view and enjoying each others company (well nobody pushed me off the wall so I think it was a mutual enjoyment!)
Then we started the walk down, through gates, skirting along mini-paths and rattling locked gates (we walked around where the fence stopped... five meters from the locked gate), and eventually found a place where we could show off our hooping skills!
Namhansanseong Hula Championship - Quarter Finals
Arriving back in town, we bought some beers at a convenience store, sat on some benches and drank them. A man we didn't know gave us a chocolate chip scone and we were briefly confused before eating it, along with kimbap and little choccy goodies!
We arrived home 14 hours after we'd left, and weren't even sore the next day!
Gamsahapnida for reading,
The Wedding Planner (but really...)
How to get there:
Namhansanseong Station on Line 8 - Exit 1 and walk straight for 20 minutes.
OR
Sanseong Station on Line 8 - Exit 2, then take bus no. 9 for 20 minutes.
P.S. Korean movie recommendation...
Blind 블라인드 (2011)
A blind ex-detective is on the hunt for a predator! It's exciting, scary and all round good!
A few years ago when I was travelling in Italy, I spent a few hours in Milan. While waiting for a friend, I sat down in front of the main station and put my plastic bag with two oranges, an Italy guidebook and the boarding passes for my upcoming flight, on the ground next to me. I, being me, left that bag on the steps when my friend arrived. After a one minute drive around the station, I realised I'd left the bag and we drove back around to the other side of the station to collect it. In the two minutes that I'd been absent somebody had taken my plastic bag full of just STUFF.
If I'd done that here in Korea, I think that bag would still have been waiting for me on the steps chirping a welcome back song to me, even if I'd stopped and had a meal before heading back to the steps.
I and many other expats living in Korea are often surprised completely baffled at this, as in our own countries, that bag would not only be gone but your orange peels too.
Take a look at the picture below, what do you see? Okay a till, a little note, one of those infuriating self checkout machines, an ice cream freezer (because duh) and some other things. Now, what can you not see? STAFF! This shop is so lazy that trusts it's customers so much that it doesn't seem concerned about people helping themselves!
I felt like I was paying for food from my own fridge.
I once went to a store here with my sister, where she bought some souvenirs for people back at home. I, being in charge of holding bag of said souvenirs (what was she thinking!?), of course left them on top of the lockers where we had (intentionally) left our bags. Fast forward more than two hours after wandering the streets, finding a spa, taking a bath and chatting in the communal area, my stomach drops as I realised I had left multiple pairs of socks and some notebooks on a locker in the middle of the city. After taking a taxi and running like a mad man, there was our bag of treats, still on top of the locker. Not even the cleaner who was in that very area had tidied them away.
My final story is from when I left my wallet on a bus that was set to do a journey through all the rickety roundabout roads (probably mainly highways but that doesn't sound as good) of the southern provinces of Korea, the day before my vacation. I realised FOUR HOURS after getting off the bus, at which point I do believe my stomach dropped so far that it left my body. It turns out somebody had found it, given it to the bus driver, who had driven it round with him all day before dropping it back at my local station for me (for a fee of 3000won/2 quid?!).
Basically, you can leave your crap anywhere and it will be alright (usually)
Gamsahapnida for reading,
Person questioning how he actually has managed to keep any of his belongings.
I have recently come across something new, unusual and increasingly popular - a drama with minimal story and an emphasis on watching people eat.
A love triangle.
Watching people eat is just a part of it, and listening to people eat is the other part. The sounds of the eating is amplified (sometimes to an off putting level) to show how tasty the food is, and the 'actors' don't hold back in their chowing down.
Pleasure or pain?
Maybe you are thinking 'WHY!?' and so I asked a Korean friend the very reason for the existence of this show. He said it is so that you can enjoy the food without actually eating it. A co-worker told me that nowadays Korean people can be very stressed, so watch it just to enjoy it and relax. Whatever floats your boat.
Didn't anybody ever tell you not to eat ribs in public!?
I do have some concerns thoughts about this show:
What happens if the director doesn't like your performance? Are you expected to vomit and try again?
How do people become actors for this? Do casting agents sit around in restaurants to see who is a good eater? Usually that is not acceptable.
Is this supposed to make me feel more hungry or less hungry?
Is this comparable to cooking shows? Part of me thinks yes. Another part of me says 'not quite' as I'm not sure if I'm being sold something or whether I am indeed just watching someone eat.
Thoughts?
Gamsahapnida for reading,
Up-and-coming foodstar.
P.S. Kinda K-pop by Dami Im with 'Super Love'. I say kinda k-pop because she is the Korean winner of the Australian X Factor, so the song wasn't made in Korea.
P.P.S. 'Why the hell not' music by No Doubt with 'A Little Something Refreshing'
I visited my co-teacher's parents' farm one weekend in June, to help with the picking of blueberries.
After taking a train for a couple of hours, we were greeted by fresh countryside air and made our way to the family home, where we drank blueberry and tomato smoothies, which is an unfamiliar mix but tastes great! After that, it was time for bed.
The next day began at six in the morning (not a time I am familiar with) and consisted of cutting and arranging fabric under the bushes to protect the blueberries from dirt, removing weeds, picking blueberries, (while chomping on a few too) and making boxes for the blueberries.
Don't mind me, just creepin'.
An interesting little berry. Looks like a strawberry but it is quite tangy and soft with a big (inedible) seed in the middle. I had a fair few of these, too. By the way, I neither took this photo with my mouth nor do I have a third arm. The second hand belongs to my co-teacher.
'It's Socks'... no it's not.
First person weeding game.
Weeding.
This is some 졸 grass that was picked. I had to select the edible fresh blades, which were then cooked into a pancake to be served with soy sauce.
La pancake. Delishy.
The day finished with putting the blueberries into the boxes ready to be delivered. I was given a box also, which I gobbled up with ice cream, yogurt and bananas (not all in the same day). After a long day, we had another bluemato smoothie and next I was in bed and asleep before you can say bluebe-
Overall, it was a great experience! (If you want blueberries and live in Korea, let me know... I have contacts now).
I like my school for a lot of reasons. One of them is the great school lunches that I get to eat. Come with me on a week's tour of lunch!
This is where I get my lunch from.
And this is where the kids get their lunch.
Self-service woohoo! (dangerous)
Monday
Top left: 시금치 Boiled spinach with salt and sesame oil
Top middle: 깍두기 Radish kimchi, quite sour and crunchy!
Top left: 닭갈비 Marinated chicken with vegetables and chewy rice cakes
Bottom left: 보리밥 Barley rice
Bottom right: 부대찌개 Budae jjigae or army soup. People aren't 100% certain how it came about, but the prevailing idea is that American soldiers gave SPAM, hot dogs and macaroni to Korean civilians during the Korean war, who then mixed it with Kimchi, beansprouts and spices to make a soup. This is a school version, however and isn't spicy.
Tuesday
Top left: 열무된장무침 Soybean paste marinated radish leaves
Top middle: 포기김치 Cabbage Kimchi (fermented cabbage)
Top right: 잡채 Glass noodles with vegetables and oil.
Bottom left: 율무밥 Plain white rice
Bottom right: 쇠고기낙지전골 Beef and squid soup (I didn't put any squid in mine, however)
Wednesday
Top left: 오이지무침 Pickled cucumber. It was a little bit sweet.
Top middle: 파인애플 Pineapple
Top right: 깍두기 Radish kimchi
Bottom left: 치킨텐더/머스터드소스 Chicken tender with honey mustard sauce. Quite a treat because at first I thought it might have been battered octopus. The batter had these crispy little things on the outside too. Delish!
Bottom right: White rice with beef and vegetable curry!
Thursday
Top left: 깍두기 That radish kimchi from Monday and Wednesday.
Top middle: 게살크림납작파스타 Brocolli and unidentified pink thing (google says crab) cream pasta.
Top right: 도라지오이생채 Cucumber and bellflower root (Literally just found this out!)
Bottom left: 찰흑미밥 Erm.... purple rice.
Bottom right: 돈육김치찌개 Tofu, kimchi and pork casserole.
Friday
Top left: 도토리목무침 Acorn jelly with lettuce, carrot and red chilli pepper. Yum!
Top middle: 포기김치
Top right: 등심탕수육 Sweet and sour pork
Bottom left: 서리태밥 Rice with beans
Bottom right: 콩가루배추국 Cabbage and beansprout soup
On the side: 뿌요파티Apple, white grape, pumpkin, lettuce, orange, celery, brocolli and spinach juice. Surprisingly tasty!
...and for afters
a little treat from one of my co-workers.
Gamsahapnida for reading,
Full up!
P.S. Not techically K-music as she is Korean American, but I like it. TOKiMONSTA: Go With It (Feat. MNDR)
Sokcho
is a seaside town in the most rural of Korea’s provinces. Fifteen friends and I
visited for the long weekend made up of Saturday, Sunday, Children’s Day Monday
and Buddha’s Birthday Tuesday. The eight hour bus journey (usually three and a
quarter hours) was made worse by Wine Friday but made better by a little friend
I made on the bus.
Jaemo
was a little toddler chappy who showed me his transformer-esque sports car,
gave me an egg (while spitting some of his own on my leg during a particularly
exciting counting game), and wouldn’t let me sleep.
This was after an attempted nap, which he woke me up from by poking me in the arm.
Our
hostel was three rooms behind a café, with a cute little dog to play with. The café
owners run the hostel so it was a nice atmosphere there. After checking out our
rooms we headed to the seafront, where we had dinner and set off fireworks.
After this we headed out to karaoke for a spot of singing and then back to the
hostel to bed.
Day two started wonderfully, with some frankly magical sandwiches prepared by a lovely
lady who didn’t even work in the café (she was visiting the owners, while doubling
as foreign liaison for the duration of her stay as well as drinking lots of
wine, at her own confession). These sandwiches were a major talking point of
the holiday and Katy even suggested it was the best sandwich she has eaten in
Korea. This reminds me of when I went through a ham sandwich phase last year, except it
turned out it wasn’t pre-cooked ham and it was in fact raw bacon that I had been
eating for days.
After
breakfast we tried to find our way to a nearby lake to rent bikes. The bike
rental seemingly didn’t exist so we went to the beach instead. After a dip in
the cold sea, I made a beautiful sand face, ate a chip-covered bread-covered
hot dog (covered in sauce) and went for a stroll along the beach, followed by
some hula and hanging antics. Pictures below.
'Kimchi!'
Devoured.
They bruise, they bruise. Oh, baby. when you spin, you spin.
Bats unmasked.
In the
evening, we wandered around before finding a restaurant that had to call for family
backup staff when they saw how many of us there were, and that is how we ruined
Saturday night for two women whose parents own a restaurant.
After
dinner, we went back to our hostel where we played articulate. To be specific,
it was British English articulate, so there were a lot of confused people.
Day three started with another fantastic sandwich, and another one in my bag for the hike
ahead. We climbed to the Ulsan Bawi peak and on the way back down stopped for
some celebratory soju and SANDWICHES (they were good, unsurprisingly). I also
managed to have a little look around with the binoculars and at the same time
earn myself a curious reputation.
Arriving
back at the hostel, we were told by the owners that we could buy meat and cook
it in the back room of the café, which we did and took it in turns playing
chef. After this we played some games that not everyone understood (it wasn’t
even a British version) and turned in to bed late.
Our
final day started with a tea ceremony by the hostel/café owner followed by only
a slightly delayed bus journey home. Overall - a bloomin' good weekend!
Last weekend, I went skiing for the first time, and therefore crossed another mission off this year's bucket list.
After an early morning 'OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO BE LATE' sprint to the bus stop (not late), we departed and pulled up two and a half hours later at a ski and clothing rental store. I rented skis, sticks (poles, I was corrected), ski pants and goggles (I didn't need them, I just wanted to look the part). The first pair of ski pants I was given were peach coloured. Firstly, they would have looked horrible with my mainly black and blue clothes and secondly, I didn't want people to think I was skiing naked (from the waist down). I managed to change them for a black pair and all seemed well.
Things were soon to go downhill (downhill, get it? It's a skiing joke get with the program).
Just tilt your computer 45 degrees, or 90 if you want to see us on a more difficult slope.
Arriving at the slopes, the beginners were taken for their skiing lesson. During the lesson, I learnt how to fall over without impaling myself on the sticks (poles.. poles) and this was very handy information, as without it there would have been approximately 752 impaling opportunities throughout the day.
After the lesson, a couple of friends and I headed to what we thought would be an easy slope. Turns out it wasn't, and after chirping a cheery but nervous 'BYE' to one of my friends at the top, I spent the next ten minutes skiing at superspeed for five seconds until crashing and being saved by the staff. At one point my skis actually went through the fence and I thought I was going to follow. Luckily, I latched on and just swung around like a rag doll. Post-flapping around (a side effect of stopping when travelling at the speed of light)
I managed to untangle my skis. Eventually I made it to the bottom, a great deal sorer than when I left, with a painful knee thrown in for free.
Did that stop me? No it did not!
At some point in the day, some of the stitches in my trousers ripped open. The rental people LOVE me...
After some help from a friend, I learnt how to stop and slow down effectively and spent the next couple of hours on the beginner slope.
If there ain't enough danger - do it at night!
I also bought a night ski pass and went up to the top slope (BIG MONSTER SLOPE) with three friends. They told me it was a beginner course and of course I didn't believe them even after they promised, but I still took the gondola up with them. The slope was great and we did that course around six or seven times that evening, trying to fit in as many as possible before closing time. We decided to go *one last time* and took the lift up to the top. It was at this point that one of my friends promised me an ice cream if I could catch up to him. I accepted. Bad move, Daniel.
They were faster than me, but when we reached the final slope, I realised that if I was ever going to win that ice cream, it was now. It was at this point that I started Olympic speed skiing and raced in between the two of them, feeling on top of the world and relishing in the fact that I had just earned myself an ice cream (it is what I live for). Then I fall. Then I roll. Then I roll. Then I roll some more. In this spectacular fall, I rolled a few metres, lost both of my skis and one stick (POLE) and managed to attract just a little bit of attention (everyone). I even managed to break one of the skis so it was unusable. I was fine by the way, except I was still three quarters of the way up the mountain. After sliding down to half way on my bum (like a dog wiping it's you know what on your new carpet) I managed to take a lift down to the bottom.
...
...
...
Okay, finally made it a quarter of the way.
That night there was a meat and soju party, followed by fireworks and bed - A great end to a great day
Unfortunately it was the last weekend of the ski season, so until next year, Phoenix Park!
Arriving back in Seoul, me and a handful of friends went to get some food. We went to a place called Hong Cup in Hongdae, where you can buy a cup of chicken, rice cakes and mini hash browns covered in garlic soy sauce and cheese. Delish. Getting inside to eat was a bit of a mission as we needed to climb a steep staircase up to a mini loft which was big enough for two people, and there were four of us plus bags. It was cosy.
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