We hopped on a bus to Jinju and arrived around lunchtime to find the town full of korean tourists. We first went to look around the fortress which was a great place just to walk around and enjoy. There were lanterns of all shapes and sizes throughout the grounds. These included trees, soldiers, animals and a number of lanterns acting out different sports such as archery and wrestling. When walking around we spotted that you could try out archery in the grounds of the fortress so we decided that we would definitely have a go. While queueing, Ed and Luis were debating who could get closer to the bullseye with their three arrows while Nina was being slightly more reserved. In the end, it was a lot more difficult than it looked with none of us getting anywhere near the target let alone the bullseye. Of course they were also letting young children have a go too and just before we stepped up a little girl fired so high that the arrow hit a rock and came flying back towards the people waiting!
We then headed across the river to see a bamboo forest that was filled with even more lanterns. However, when we got there it became clear that it was some kind of 'lovers forest' as there was a huge heart at the beginning and 2 people holding hands and kissing above the entrance. As were were walking through we started to see some really weird and inappropriate lanterns of animals mating in amidst the bamboo. It was quite strange but none of the Koreans seemed to be batting an eyelid! Here are some pics of the day:
After the bamboo forest, we got some bibimbap then made our way back to the entrance of the fortress to wait for the sun to go down and the festival to properly start. We spotted that you could make your own lanterns by the edge of the river. You were supposed to write down your wishes on the side of your lantern, then light the candle inside and float it down the river when the sun went down. We wrote our four wishes on the side and waited eagerly to release our lantern. Whilst we were waiting to float our lantern, another couple's suddenly caught fire. They first tried to blow it out but it wasn't working so the man just grabbed the lantern, threw it on the floor and stamped it out crushing the wishes to ashes! The woman looked heartbroken. We released our lantern safely then stood on the riverbank as thousands slowly emerged onto the water.
We then made our way back into the fortress where the darkness had now transformed the entire place. All the soldiers, animals, pavilions and trees were now lit up while you could also walk along the fortress wall which overlooked the river. After checking out the palace grounds we decided to head across the river to see the kilometre-long archway of lanterns. It looked amazing from inside as you seemed to be surrounded by a never-ending supply of red lights. After getting some great pictures we made our way back to the bus terminal to beat the crowds and went for a drink in Jinyeong when we got back. Here are some pics of the night:
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