To Gangwon-DO we GO!

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.

Gamsahapnida for reading,

Gollum

Up and round we go!

"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!

Trust in the People

Hillu,

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.



P.S. K-pop by Lee Hyori with 'Miss Korea'

Let's Eat!

Hello fellow residents of Earth,

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:

1. What happens if the director doesn't like your performance? Are you expected to vomit and try again?
2. 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.
3. Is this supposed to make me feel more hungry or less hungry?
4. 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'

On the farm

Hello...

*General screams*

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).

Goodbye!

Gamsahapnida for reading,

Her

P.S. K-music by Lee Sora 이소라 with 'Un Deut' 운 듯

P.P.S K-music by Lee Sora 이소라 with 'The Wind Is Blowing' 바람이 분다

P.P.P.S Why-the-hell-not-music by Dolly Parton with 'Home'