Old Tea Shop, Insadong

The rainy season is upon us here is South Korea. Being from the Pacific Northwest we thought we had seen all types of rain, but we were wrong. It rains sideways here! We set out for one of Korea's most famous tea shops. All of the traditional tea shops are located in the tourist area of Insadong, but we were surprised when we found this spot to be a hidden gem full of birds flying around! It is called the Old Tea Shop. Hidden down one of Insadong's many side streets was a creaky old staircase leading to a little piece of Korea we will never forget. We tucked ourselves away in one of the corners, watched the rain fall, tried to talk to the birds and sipped on pear tea just like the Joseon kings would. We left feeling we had experienced a bit of Korean culture we had been craving since our arrival.

The bathroom with rocks at your feet and an open bowl with some fish swimming around. Reason enough to make a visit.

Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon

One of our favorite Saturday afternoon activities in walking around the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. It is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and is the only fully intact fortress wall in all of Korea! This weekend we jumped on the 66-4 bus (the 66 and 10 also make this journey) with some of our new friends, Meredith and Stuart from Portland! Pacific Northwest- woohoo! The fortress is about 5.52km around, and houses many military facilities from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The story of why it was built is an interesting one...

The wall was built in the late 18th century by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to honour and house the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo having failed to obey his command to commit suicide.



Korean Wine Train

Some friends invited us along this weekend on our first trip to a Korean winery. The tour started with a train ride through the countryside with unlimited wine! The tasting started at 10am- yes, you read that correctly, 10 IN THE MORNING! After a few hours on the train, we were bused to an lunch buffet with more unlimited wine. The afternoon was spent touring the "winery" and relaxing in a "wine foot spa". The website advertised this "wonderful and relaxing foot spa" to be in some type of special "healing wine". They thought they could fool us drunk foreigners! It was a tub painted dark purple on the inside and filled with hot water!! We are not that tossed my friends! You can't fool us - drunk googles or not!



Wine foot spa-HA!


The Chataeu Mani Winery was pleasant enough, though it did not rival Napa or anything. It was sure nice to get out of the city. On the way back to the train station we took a stop at a museum with traditional Korean instruments and the world's largest drum (according to our guide). The train ride back had more unlimited wine and by 9pm we were finishEE!

Wine and Cinema Train



The extent of our winery tour




World's Largest Drum (they claim it is in the Guinness Book of World Records)



Visit Korea is the tourist organization that put together our day! LOVES

Lately..

It has been far too long since the last post. No excuses. I clearly need to get back on the horse!


Here is a bit of what we have been up to.

 1) Discovering where the Korean weirdos hang out. Finally, I am home.

Saturday Hongik University Art Market=EPIC

2) A soundless stroll through Seodaemun Prison.

 3) War Memorial of Korea. Both educational and a bit humerous. Nothing like Korean children climbing around in war wreckage.

 4) Newspaper pom poms and orange plastic bag-hats at a Lotte Giants game. I've never seen fans more dedicated.

 5) Swallowed up by the masses at the Cherry Blossom Festival

 8) Group cutting of the cake at a Korean wedding

7) Motivational words from a Korean backside during my first race

 8) Endless nights at the noraebang

 9) Tandem biking the Han

 10) Women's Race at the World Cup Stadium

11) Running a 10K with a Scotsman in a kilt

 11) Weekend trips across the world to attend a wedding

Alex and Megan Gonzalez 5.22.2011

 12) $5,000 burgers at Korea's only greasy spoon

 13) Mozzarella balls at Namsan Tower for our anniversary



It has been an eventful few months. We only have a few more months in Korea. Our next destination? Southeast Asia.

Demilitarized Zone Tour

At last, we made our way to the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) that separates the North from the South. We went on a tour through the USO and are glad we did! We've heard Korean drivers can't actually take you into the DMZ, but with the USO we were transferred to a US Military bus and were taken to the Joint Security Area (JSA), Conference Row, one of the tunnels and a few other observatory stations. When we arrived we were given a briefing by a US solider at the JSA building. This gave us a short history and current detail of the situation between the North and the South. From there we were taken to Conference Row where we saw soldiers (from both sides) standing guard with a few blue buildings separating them. These buildings were established to house talks between the two sides. 

After that you are taken to an observation point where you can see North Korea's peace village, Kijong-dong. Both sides have peace villages; however with modern technology the North's has been found to be more of an illusion. It was built to appear as if it was a bustling city! With buildings closely together, propaganda pouring from the speakers and their flag waving proudly on the world’s second-tallest flag pole standing 525 feet (160 m) high (the flag itself weighs 595 lbs), they obviously wanted life to seem normal and modern. In reality, the buildings are far apart, without window glass or interior rooms, the lights are turned on and off at random times electronically and there are only few who seem to maintain the upkeep of the public spaces.

After a quick lunch we headed to the tunnel portion of our tour. The tunnels were built by the North to aid in their planned invasion of the South. With our hard hats on, we made our way down the Third Tunnel of four discovered by South Korea. This one was discovered based on information given by a North Korean defector. After that we went on to see Dorasan Station. This is the only train station that, one day, will connect the South to the North. South Korea's construction of this site hopes to send a message of future reunification and peacetime between the two.

Having been untouched for the past 50 years, the space between the North and South seems to have fostered one of the most well-preserved temperate habitats in the world. There are many endangered animals and plant species living in the DMZ. The flourishing biodiversity should continue to be preserved well after unification. Overall, it was an educational experience and one I will never forget! This visit gave me hope for Korea's future, but reminded me of the very real threat of division.



Our briefing from the US Military.



ROK soliders inside the DMZ.

At the Third Tunnel site.

Gwanksan Mountain

This past weekend we went for a lovely hike in Seoul. We hiked Gwanksan Mountain. We took the bus into Seoul, then the subway to Seoul National University, then took another bus to the campus gate and started our hike just past the university 입구 (ibgu or entrance). I have to say many websites sell the option of such great hiking around Seoul by trying to convince you that it is an escape from the people and busy city. I have never seen so many people on hiking trails as I do in Korea! Our friend said one website claimed this particular mountain gets up to 50 million visitors a year! YIKES!

After a few hours of hiking we reached this peak with a Weather Observatory at the top. We then hiked down the other side and visited a temple or two. We finished the night off with some lovely cheeseburgers from Traveler's Pub and Grill in Bundang. They have the best cheeseburger in Korea-hands down!



Yongin-si Expert Travel Team



Here is a map of the mountain and all the different trails you can choose from!

Boracay Island, Philippines




White Beach, Boracay, Philippines

 

As I am writing I am mentally transporting myself back to Boracay Island where we spent 6 days. I have no words for the magnitude of natural beauty I was surrounded by. The uninhibited island lifestyle was euphoric. I was bombarded with its simplicity from start to finish. The escape from underneath a blanket of snow was something I believe everyone on Earth should have the privilege to experience. There was not an ounce of me that wanted to return back to my newfound home in Korea.

Our travel companions were a mixture of young and younger, trendy and grungy, and the ever testing combination of the adventurous and the cautious. I couldn’t have asked for a better blend of people to spend this getaway with.

Though Boracay has recently been gaining in popularity as being one of the best beaches in the world, I hadn’t heard of it before I came to this side of the globe. My students had told me about this ‘famous’ and ‘amazingly amazing’ beach with white sand and blue water. I did my research and it seems prior to the late-seventies this part of the world wasn’t familiar with tourists at all. My students were not lying about its beauty, but to say its untouched isn’t entirely true. Along the stretch of White Beach are many shops, vendors, resorts and the like. Still, there is something about the feeling you get when you venture beyond the tourist strip that gives you a sense of purity. It was the perfect blend of touched and untouched for our group.

 

The travel involved in getting to this location is probably what steers most people away. First, all incoming tourists must land in Manila. Sergio, Mom and I flew in from Korea, and went straight from Manila to Kalibo (one of two airports you must fly into to get to Boracay). However, our travel partners were not so lucky. They flew in from the states, and had to spend the night in Manila. Anyone who knows anything about Manila knows that two females probably shouldn’t wander around Manila alone. All in all, we all safely landed at the Kalibo airport- just not all together! Our flights landed at two different times and both groups were quickly whisked off to another location. The plane landed on the tarmac, then we walked into the small ‘Arrivals’ area of the airport and promptly found the Filipino holding a white board with our name scribbled on it. We followed our guy, were handed stickers to wear and were put on a shuttle with other tourists. After a two hour shuttle ride through the REAL Philippines, we arrived at another transport location. This time we were at Caticlan airport. This airport is the closest to Boracay, whereas we found cheaper flights into Kalibo, but had to take the shuttle ride. I am extremely happy with the choice to take the shuttle! It made me feel like we weren’t stuck in a tourist trap the entire trip!

From Caticlan, we were put onto another bus to drive us to the beach to get on our banana boat! Once there, they loaded our bags and we were on our way to Boracay! The boat ride lasted all of five minutes, but it was nice to finally see some blue water! From the beach we jumped into a small van for the final leg of our journey! Stacy and Michelle both took the same trip an hour after we did. The entire transportation arrangements were settled by our resort, the Boracay Regency, for a small fee! I highly, highly, highly recommend anyone traveling to Boracay to arrange transportation ahead of time. Unless you are cool with riding in a motor-tricycle for 3+ hours.

We arrived at White Beach after many hours of traveling, but were welcomed with beautiful blue water that made it all worth it! We managed to pack as many thrill-seeking experiences as possible in the few days we were there. Our first day together was spent tasting some Filippino food and zip lining through the jungle to the beach!

Our second day we charted a private banana boat to take us to different islands in the area. We were first taken to an island called Crystal Cove. We spent three hours searching around caves, walking through tunnels and exploring the island. Next, they took us to a small area where we went snorkeling! The price was around $130 USD for five people for three or four hours- it was great!

Our third day we spent shopping around and then we decided to try one of the tourist trap activities. They called it the 'Flying Fish' and we were told it was like a giant raft that is pulled by a boat. They did not mention the fact that the raft would be lifted into the air while the boat speeds through the water! EEEKK! I can say this was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life!

It was wonderful to get back on land after that horrifying experience! We found some markets and visited a pedicure place where tiny fish ate our dead skin off our feet. Interesting day to say the least....

We layed out on the beach our last day and soaked up the sun! Overall the experience was unforgettable and so much more than I could have asked for. I would highly recommend this spot to anyone who wants to see a third world country but still wants the luxury of a resort town.