Monday 27 August 2012
Camping on Geoje
This weekend we went camping with the Jinyeong crew to Gujora Beach on Geoje Island. We were all kitted out with our £10 Tesco tents, our camping stove, and our most important item; 'John Adams'- our inflatable killer whale. We got the bus to Sasang Busan, took another bus to Jangseungpo, then took city bus 61 to Gujora. The beach was really beautiful surrounded by mountains and the shape of the cove means that the tide is never very strong. We camped right at the end of the beach and we had it all to ourselves. We spent the day swimming, and playing games. Ed was definitely most prepared for the sun; he had his parasol, wore a t-shirt and cap all day, regularly applied sun lotion, and STILL managed to get sunburnt!!! Throughout the day whilst swimming, everyone (apart from Nina) complained that they felt that they had been stung in the water. We later found out that the south coast of Korea currently has a huge influx of jelly fish with apparently up to 1 million jellyfish per square km!! No one had a bad sting though, it felt more like a nettle sting. In the evening we feasted on a BBQ followed by a game of volleyball in which the girls destroyed the boys. The boys then tried to get their own back in a penalty shootout but were resoundly beaten again. The night descended into Ed performing the Gangnam Style dance routine as a dare in front of bemused looking Koreans. For those who haven't seen or heard Korea's newest pop sensation (62 million views!) here it is and here are some pics:
Saturday 18 August 2012
Miryang Eoreumgol (Ice Valley)
Last weekend, we went with the Jinyeong crew to Miryang to explore the Ice Valley. The weather on the Saturday was sunny and 31'C but inside the Ice Valley it was -1'C! We're not really sure of the geographical science behind the phenomenon but from what we could understand, during winter air gets trapped underneath the rocks which then gets released during the summer months. It was a strange experience heading over to the valley feeling boiling hot then as soon as we reached the valley we could feel a lovely cool breeze! The surrounding area is very beautiful so we explored some waterfalls and found a nice cool spot for some lunch. Here are some photos from our trip:
The Family Come to Visit: Yeonhwa-do & Seoul
On the 26th & 27th of July we went to the airport to pick up Mama Anne, Mama Joy and Hannah. Having a day or two to chill and recover from their flights, on Friday night we all went to dinner together with our boss and her husband. Everyone really loved their introduction to Korean food and it was a really nice way to start the holiday.
Saturday: We had a lazy morning, with everyone still recovering from jet-lag and settling into the motel which would be their home for the week. Hannah and Joy opted for the VIP room which included a huge overhead projector and a TV in the main room and the bathroom! After having some lunch, we gave them a tour of our one room apartment and sat down to watch the Olympics opening ceremony. It was all agreed that Kenneth Brannagh's performance in the show was Oscar worthy. Later we took the family to our favourite BBQ restaurant. In the background, the TV was showing the highlights of the ceremony and when Kenneth popped up again Anne rather too enthusiastically applauded and wooed at the screen as loud as she could. The entire restaurant stopped to stare at the strange foreign family. After dinner, we headed to a singing room. Surprisingly the mums seemed to be enjoying themselves even more than the kids. We were treated to passionate performances of Black Magic Woman and Layla amongst others. Joy's salvation army tambourining skills showed everyone up.
Sunday: We wanted to give our family a taste of the coast so we went to one of our favourite places, an island called Yeonhwa-do off the mainland city of Tongyeong. We took a ferry on which Anne surprisingly didn't get seasick, and arrived at Yeonhwa in the early afternoon. By this point it had reached around 38C so we were thankful to put our bags down in the pension we had booked a room in. Our room faced right onto the sea and the view was absolutely spectacular. After sorting ourselves out we took our picnic food which we had prepared that morning and went out to find a beautiful spot to eat lunch on the island. We knew that there was a pavilion with shade, but it was a 30 minute uphill walk in the direct sunshine. We decided to go for it anyway to our sweaty peril. Although on the way up we all truly believed this was the hottest and sweatiest we had ever been, it was all worth it when we reached the pavilion. We tucked into our lunch and had a game of 20 questions with a panoramic coastal view in the background. After lunch we wandered round the island a bit more and watched the sunset from our room. Here are some pictures:
Monday: We headed back to the mainland in the morning and decided to go up the Tongyeong cable car. Once again it seemed that we were the hottest we'd ever been EVER! Nina, Anne and Hannah were now all kitted out with fans which they helplessly fluttered to try and cool down! Last time we took the cable car in November we walked down the mountain but that was a definite no-no this time as it was far too hot. However, the views from the top made us forget all about the heat (well for a little while) as we got to see sights of the entire Marine Park. In the afternoon we headed back to our Jinyeong base.
Tuesday: We decided to chill out on Tuesday in preperation for our trip up to Seoul the next day. We downloaded the movie 'The Artist'. Our original plan was to try and watch it on the overhead projector in Han and Joy's room but the connection wasn't working properly. We tried to ask the woman at the main desk and when she came into the the room she looked at the projector in disbelief as if she'd had no idea that it was there! After a few seconds she just shook her head and made a cross sign with her arms. So the overhead projector was a no go. Thanks to our nifty tech skills we managed to watch it on the huge plasma tv instead, a fair consolation prize.
Wednesday: An early start taking the KTX up to Seoul. Once we reached our destination we headed over to our accomodation. We had decided to stay at 'Seoul Guest House' and rented out the 'Sarang-Chae' which was our own little annex. It was in traditional hanok style but had an important modern add-on: air con! It was a lovely place to stay and the owner had a very cute dog. We were all given a personal photo of the dog upon arrival and our annex boasted a framed photo of the dog outside the front door! Once we were settled, we headed out to explore Bukchon village which is a large area of traditional hanok housing. We then hit up the shops of Myongdong, Nina and Han both managing to purchase new dresses- thanks mum! In the evening we ventured up Namsam tower to get a bird's eye view of Seoul at night.
Thursday: In the morning we went to see our favourite dressed up guards with fake facial hair at Geongbokgung palace to watch the changing of the guard. Afterwards we wandered around Insadong and all ended up buying souvenirs and trinkets.On our way back to our little hanok for a siesta we spoilt ourselves to a steak lunch! It was one of those meals where there was very little talking and lots of eating, it had been quite a while since we'd had a good steak! In the evening, we went for a stroll down Cheonggyecheon Stream in the middle of Seoul. We soon found out that this was a hot spot for young couples on dates and we amused ourselves by watching the couples and analysing how successful the dates were going. Sometimes, it's quite fun to speak a language that no one around you understands.
*a small note to add: for anyone who read our blog entry about Nina's mum visiting Korea in May: we mentioned a bizarre Korean man who kept bumping into us and speaking every english word he knew at us? Well, we saw him again!!! We literally couldn't believe it.
Friday: The family group split up for the day. Joy, Han and Anne did the DMZ but as we had already done the tour in January (and it's not really something you do twice!), we went to the aquarium. We enjoyed the aquarium although some of the fish tanks were a little alternative. There was a phone booth tank, a fridge tank, a washing machine tank and even a toilet! In the evening, Anne was feeling a little tired but the rest of us went to Hongdae. Joy treated us to pizzas and then we went for one more blast in a singing room! Mum once again dazzled us with a performance of 'Sweet Home Alabama' and Han managed to rap the entirity of 'Gold Digger'.
Saturday: Our final day in Seoul, we went to Ed's favourite place: the fish market! We saw huge king crabs and lobsters. For lunch, we ate a traditional Korean meal with the entire table filled with little plates and bowls of different things to try. We had a few more hours to kill before our train so we walked around Gyeongbokgung Palace. However, we managed to lose track of our 'free' time and realised when we reached the metro station that we only had 20 minutes to catch our KTX train!! We organised a plan; we would sprint to the station, Ed straight to the ticket desk, the rest of us to the lockers where our bags were. It was execueted with military precision. However, I think we single handedly ruined the foreign stereotype of British people's love of queues and manners. We caught our train with 4 minutes to spare!
Sunday-Wednesday: We spent Sunday just chilling out, playing some games and watching the Olympics. We showed everyone a small bar just next to our apartment which serves a fermented rice drink called mokoli. Anne got quite a taste for it! Monday and Tuesday we were back at work, so Joy, Han and Anne were left to their own devices during the day. Han and Joy bravely ventured to Busan on the Tuesday on their own and had a look around the beach. On Wednesday, we took everyone to the airport and sadly said our goodbyes.
Saturday: We had a lazy morning, with everyone still recovering from jet-lag and settling into the motel which would be their home for the week. Hannah and Joy opted for the VIP room which included a huge overhead projector and a TV in the main room and the bathroom! After having some lunch, we gave them a tour of our one room apartment and sat down to watch the Olympics opening ceremony. It was all agreed that Kenneth Brannagh's performance in the show was Oscar worthy. Later we took the family to our favourite BBQ restaurant. In the background, the TV was showing the highlights of the ceremony and when Kenneth popped up again Anne rather too enthusiastically applauded and wooed at the screen as loud as she could. The entire restaurant stopped to stare at the strange foreign family. After dinner, we headed to a singing room. Surprisingly the mums seemed to be enjoying themselves even more than the kids. We were treated to passionate performances of Black Magic Woman and Layla amongst others. Joy's salvation army tambourining skills showed everyone up.
Sunday: We wanted to give our family a taste of the coast so we went to one of our favourite places, an island called Yeonhwa-do off the mainland city of Tongyeong. We took a ferry on which Anne surprisingly didn't get seasick, and arrived at Yeonhwa in the early afternoon. By this point it had reached around 38C so we were thankful to put our bags down in the pension we had booked a room in. Our room faced right onto the sea and the view was absolutely spectacular. After sorting ourselves out we took our picnic food which we had prepared that morning and went out to find a beautiful spot to eat lunch on the island. We knew that there was a pavilion with shade, but it was a 30 minute uphill walk in the direct sunshine. We decided to go for it anyway to our sweaty peril. Although on the way up we all truly believed this was the hottest and sweatiest we had ever been, it was all worth it when we reached the pavilion. We tucked into our lunch and had a game of 20 questions with a panoramic coastal view in the background. After lunch we wandered round the island a bit more and watched the sunset from our room. Here are some pictures:
Monday: We headed back to the mainland in the morning and decided to go up the Tongyeong cable car. Once again it seemed that we were the hottest we'd ever been EVER! Nina, Anne and Hannah were now all kitted out with fans which they helplessly fluttered to try and cool down! Last time we took the cable car in November we walked down the mountain but that was a definite no-no this time as it was far too hot. However, the views from the top made us forget all about the heat (well for a little while) as we got to see sights of the entire Marine Park. In the afternoon we headed back to our Jinyeong base.
Wednesday: An early start taking the KTX up to Seoul. Once we reached our destination we headed over to our accomodation. We had decided to stay at 'Seoul Guest House' and rented out the 'Sarang-Chae' which was our own little annex. It was in traditional hanok style but had an important modern add-on: air con! It was a lovely place to stay and the owner had a very cute dog. We were all given a personal photo of the dog upon arrival and our annex boasted a framed photo of the dog outside the front door! Once we were settled, we headed out to explore Bukchon village which is a large area of traditional hanok housing. We then hit up the shops of Myongdong, Nina and Han both managing to purchase new dresses- thanks mum! In the evening we ventured up Namsam tower to get a bird's eye view of Seoul at night.
Thursday: In the morning we went to see our favourite dressed up guards with fake facial hair at Geongbokgung palace to watch the changing of the guard. Afterwards we wandered around Insadong and all ended up buying souvenirs and trinkets.On our way back to our little hanok for a siesta we spoilt ourselves to a steak lunch! It was one of those meals where there was very little talking and lots of eating, it had been quite a while since we'd had a good steak! In the evening, we went for a stroll down Cheonggyecheon Stream in the middle of Seoul. We soon found out that this was a hot spot for young couples on dates and we amused ourselves by watching the couples and analysing how successful the dates were going. Sometimes, it's quite fun to speak a language that no one around you understands.
*a small note to add: for anyone who read our blog entry about Nina's mum visiting Korea in May: we mentioned a bizarre Korean man who kept bumping into us and speaking every english word he knew at us? Well, we saw him again!!! We literally couldn't believe it.
Friday: The family group split up for the day. Joy, Han and Anne did the DMZ but as we had already done the tour in January (and it's not really something you do twice!), we went to the aquarium. We enjoyed the aquarium although some of the fish tanks were a little alternative. There was a phone booth tank, a fridge tank, a washing machine tank and even a toilet! In the evening, Anne was feeling a little tired but the rest of us went to Hongdae. Joy treated us to pizzas and then we went for one more blast in a singing room! Mum once again dazzled us with a performance of 'Sweet Home Alabama' and Han managed to rap the entirity of 'Gold Digger'.
Saturday: Our final day in Seoul, we went to Ed's favourite place: the fish market! We saw huge king crabs and lobsters. For lunch, we ate a traditional Korean meal with the entire table filled with little plates and bowls of different things to try. We had a few more hours to kill before our train so we walked around Gyeongbokgung Palace. However, we managed to lose track of our 'free' time and realised when we reached the metro station that we only had 20 minutes to catch our KTX train!! We organised a plan; we would sprint to the station, Ed straight to the ticket desk, the rest of us to the lockers where our bags were. It was execueted with military precision. However, I think we single handedly ruined the foreign stereotype of British people's love of queues and manners. We caught our train with 4 minutes to spare!
Sunday-Wednesday: We spent Sunday just chilling out, playing some games and watching the Olympics. We showed everyone a small bar just next to our apartment which serves a fermented rice drink called mokoli. Anne got quite a taste for it! Monday and Tuesday we were back at work, so Joy, Han and Anne were left to their own devices during the day. Han and Joy bravely ventured to Busan on the Tuesday on their own and had a look around the beach. On Wednesday, we took everyone to the airport and sadly said our goodbyes.
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