Namhae Island

Last May I went on an AdventureKorea trip (the same travel company that I used when I went to the DMZ last winter) to Namhae island. Namhae is the biggest island in Namhae County and one of the most beautiful places that I’ve seen in Korea. The tour bus started in Seoul but unlike most AK trips, it made a stop in Daejeon which was really convenient for us Daejeon-ites. The bus ride from Daejeon to Namhae was about 4 hours, and the last 45 minutes or so was along the coast which was beautiful.

Our first view of the fishing village we stayed at on the Saturday. From what I’ve heard, it’s just as pretty as any part of Jeju but much cheaper and with the additional bonus of no tourists!

Looking over some of the houses in the village. I guess when you live along the side of a cliff, it makes sense to decorate your roof. Most of the houses had flowers stenciled on the roof.

In order to make this a more authentic experience, AK had set up homestays with families on the island. My friends and I ended up being the last group to be assigned a homestay, and they were all full. Instead we were put up in a private pension, with a killer view. Clearly this early bird and worm phenomenon needs to be reassessed. This is probably one of my favourite pictures from my time in Korea.

The Saturday afternoon activities started pretty low key; we hung out on the rock beach, drank homemade maekoli (rice wine), the boys swam a little and some children taught us how to catch tiny eel fish. AK likes to plan assorted activities for these trips, so eventually we were cajoled off the beach and taken to a mud pit to catch mud fish with our bare hands. Following that, we were encouraged to live like the locals and help plow a rice field!

The unfortunate part of not getting a homestay was that we ate in the island’s lone restaurant and it sounded like the people who enjoyed a home cooked meal had much better food than us. That evening we played some games with the AK group, tried to send off some wishes on paper lanterns (mine and Lauren’s managed to float away, but quite a few plummeted to the ground engulfed in flames) and ate grilled abalone. I thought it tasted, well not terrible, but definitely far from pleasant. It would have been nice if the AK guide had told us beforehand which part not to eat, rather than after many of us had eaten the entire thing. Thankfully, no one got sick the following day.

Sunday started bright and early, and I decided that a little extra sleep was more important than a breakfast of rice and kimchi. Our first activity on Sunday was to go deep sea fishing. Unfortunately, the sea refused to cooperate and was too low for the boats to go out. Instead we went to a different location where they taught us how to catch fish with our bare hands. Well theoretically, taught us. I actually learned that if I was ever in a situation where I had to feed myself on fish that I had caught with my hands, I would starve. For lunch, they grilled the fish we had just caught and it was delicious!

If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend trip away from the crowds of Busan, but somewhere you can still enjoy the coast, I would definitely recommend Namhae. It’s close enough to the mainland that you can enjoy it in two days and much cheaper than resort-oriented Jeju-do.

Daejeon: Round 2

I’ve been back in Daejeon for a few weeks now, settling into a new (well, sort of) apartment and a new job. I changed the name of this blog back in the fall when I left Korea, and although I suppose I could change it back, I think I will leave it as it is. During my blogging absense I spent a month in Johannesburg and Cape Town, a weekend in Toronto and many hours watching hockey games and hanging out with my family and friends. It was a great break from work, but I am happy to be back to teaching and back in Daejeon. I’ve got a few posts up my sleeves from activities that I got up to last year, but was too busy to ever sit down and write about.

So, for those of you who have tuned out, welcome back and for those of you who have been giving me a hard time about updating more often, stop whining! ^^

Seoul

Crushed into a subway car that more closely resembles a can of sardines than a reasonable method of transport, arguing with rude taxi drivers or fighting your way through overcrowded shopping districts, it’s easy to forget that Seoul is one of the most amazing and beautiful cities in the world.

Having been to New York City, I would argue that it is actually Seoul that is the city that never sleeps. Thanks for all the adventures, books and ridiculous weekends. Next time I promise to see the palace, ride bikes along the Han River and see more than Myongdong and Hongdae.

North Korea in pictures

A photographer for the Associated Press was recently given rare access to North Korea. He ended up with some really amazing photos that provide a fascinating insight into a country that we know so little about and that’s in a cold war (not even that cold, at times) with the country I live in.

My favourite is photo 27; For all the negative things we hear about our neighbours to the north, I love that these kids are completely hamming it up for the camera.

You can read the article here.

Move. Learn. Eat.

Three really great videos for people who love to and live to travel.

From their Vimeo page;

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..

= a trip of a lifetime.

MOVE

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Taipei

I spent the day in Taipei today on my own, and it was really great. Made me realise that I don’t spend enough time exploring Daejeon alone (we all remember what happened when I tried to do that back in September …). The highlight of my day, or rather evening, was riding the Taipei Zoo gondola.

Sitting high above Taipei, looking out at this beautiful city in front of me (and a little inspiration from Bon Iver), I suddenly felt more at peace with life, the universe and everything than I have in a really long time. It hit me that for all the good and bad decisions I have made over the years, things are working out and they are pretty great.

Okay, way more introspective that usual so I’m sorry but hey, at least it’s a post!

Seriously kids, if you’re ever in Taipei get yourself on that gondola. Breathtaking, inspiring and beautiful.

Spontaneous Busan Weekend

One of my favourite things about Korea is how small it is. Thanks largely to how easy it is to get around the country (being right in the middle helps too!), it is common among my friends to travel on the weekend. The first weekend in May, I found myself on the train to Busan with vague plans to see a parade, hit up a casino and spend some time on the beach.

I got into Busan late Friday night and headed to a bar in Haeundae that not only faced the beach, but was on the 14th floor so the ocean view was beautiful. Saturday started with a late lunch and after wandering around Haeundae, we decided it was time for a change of scenery and headed over to Gwangalli Beach which is considerable smaller but also much less crowded than Haeundae. I actually like Gwangalli better than Haeundae because the bars and restaurants along the pier are actually on the beach. Haeundae is so massive, the supposed beach front places end up being quite far from the shoreline.

After settling in, we decided that it was imperative to visit the amusement park that we passed in the taxi. The amusement park near Gwangalli is fairly small so admission was only 14,000 W (about 12.50 CDN), but there was a drop zone, pirate ship and roller coaster. What more can you ask for? Previous to Korea, my experience in amusement parks had been limited to North America so one of the things I love about amusement parks in Korea is that you see things that you would never expect to see at an amusement park back home.

This roller coaster car doesn’t work anymore but instead of having it repaired or throwing it away, we will leave it here to inspire confidence in the people who decide to put their lives in the hands of this ride.

The most curious thing about this boat, besides the fact that it was sitting under the supports for the roller coaster, was that there was no ride in the park that used them … at least as far as we saw. So either this is a real boat, or for some reason they’ve kept a car, well boat, for a ride that no longer exists.

If you look closely at the top left corner of the picture, right at the top of the track, you will see that there is a bird’s nest there. There was a bird living in it and every 30 seconds when the roller coaster went by it would fly to the ball in the center and then able back towards its net, settle back in, only to get frightened by the next car coming around the corner. Seems strange that it would continue to live there.

After the amusement park, we went to Jung-gu (where Busan Tower and a giant Lotte Department store are) to see the parade for Buddha’s birthday. Cue the longest parade that I have ever seen in my entire life (okay, the only one – but the general consensus was that this parade was ridiculously long). I’m fairly certain that every adjumma (old lady) between Daejeon and Busan was there carrying a lotus lantern.

After the parade, went back to Haeundae because there is a casino in one of the hotels. It was the first time I had been in a casino since I was 18 (the legal age to gamble in Ontario) mostly because I found the casino at home to be really depressing. Gambling is illegal for Koreans, so you need to show your ARC card to get into the casinos here which means you don’t see the little old ladies plugged into slot machines like you see at home. Anyways, I spent the evening playing roulette and although I was terrible at picking black or red, I managed to defeat the numbers game and walk away with a bit of money. Casinos in Korea also offer free drinks, which is pretty rad.

After the casino, we went to one of the famous fish restaurants along the coast. This restaurant was different from your average fish eating establishment in that you actually choose the fish that you will eat. When you go in, the entire first floor is full of dozens of tanks with all different types of fish. You tell the lady which one you want, and then follow her upstairs to eat it.

Some of the stranger looking species available for eating.

“We’ll take that large, flat one there.” “Yo-gi? (Here)” “Neh (Yes)”.
While we were in the elevator with the fish in the bucked, it had one gasping last breath of air which was vaguely unsettling.

Sunday was spent the way Sundays should be, doing nothing. We ate brunch at restaurant called Thursday …. something? which is located right along the waterfront at Gwangalli beach and then hung out in the neighbourhood near Busan Station until it was time for our train. We did find two random things in that area; one being the Russian district (no, no, not like that!) and the other was an innocuous looking bar that was full of foreign treasures including dark toblerone, deodorant and various other canned and jarred goods.

I am going to Busan again for the Memorial Day long weekend to take in the sand festival in a couple days, so I figured I should get one trip to the city posted before I go on another one! There have been some other cool adventures lately, so hopefully more posts in the coming weeks.