Road Trip Part 3 (last one)

Part 3 is going to be a long one, just to warn you. After Yeosu, we took the ferry to Jeju island and we stayed there the longest and I think it was the highlight of the trip. We got there New Years Eve and explore a folk village before we prepared for the new year. Those are kimchi pots in the first picture. In the other two I'm displaying how the bathrooms once were and how they use to cook. haha.

That night we went out for a dinner, wasted some time at a hotel bar and then dared the freezing cold to celebrate at the outdoor festival. They had fireworks , a big bon fire, and music. It was really fun. I use to hate new Years, but the last couple years have made me change my mind!

Over the course of the night, the weather turned frigid and it snowed. By the time we were on our way home, the roads were slippery and our car skidded off the road. Nothing was hurt and the other car of people came to our rescue pretty quickly. That doesn't happen in Florida!

After sleeping just a couple hours we all woke up for a sunrise hike (a popular thing to do in Korea to celebrate a new year.) We ate and then did yet another hike to the top of an old volcano island, Udo-myeon.

The cold only got worse the following day. We picked the coldest of cold days to do our ultimate 7.5 hour hike on Hala mountain. I can't even tell you how cold it was. If you look closely you can see ice in my hair and ice sickles hanging horizontally off the pole. 7 of us started the hike; 4 made it to the top. I want to do this hike again... in the summer!

Our last day, you wouldn't believe how beautiful the weather was. It was sunny, all the snow had melted and it was like 20 degrees warmer. So, we of course set off on another hike. We opted for a much easier one that was more like a walk since we were all a bit sore and tired. We walked along the southern coast line and WOW, was it amazing. I've already decided I will be back when the weather warms up.

Before leaving Jeju, we stopped by one more temple that I honestly can't remember the name of and then jumped on the ferry. On our trip over we had nice reclining seats, but the ferry back was jammed packed and all we got was a mat on the floor for the 4 hour ride. It went by pretty quickly as we played match after match of a Korean card game called Hwa-too.

After making it back to the main land, we had one more day before having to head back to Seoul. We stayed at Naganeupseong Folk Village. They let people rent out huts for the night, and then you can explore the traditional village during the day. The first picture is the hut we stayed in. That old women was in charge of our hut and was super nice. She kept trying to talk to us and she washed all our dishes. Then during the day we basically played. We had a 6 hour long drive home later in the day so we went wild before the coup up.

We made it home Sunday night and then I started English camp Monday morning. You think I'd be exhausted, but this trip actually really energized me. I'd been feeling a little down, just tired of work and not understanding things around me and feeling a little lonly. This trip really just let me have fun, laugh, meet new people, and be myself. I think it just woke me up and reminded me to enjoy the things around me again and stop taking things so seriously. Fun times!

Road Trip Part 2

After Busan we left some of our new friends and went Yeosu city. We were there for just a day, but got to enjoy some of the city's highlights. We did a sunrise hike to Hyangilam Temple.

After a nap, we did another hike that took us around the coast line. It was sooo beautiful!

This next picture is Yeosu's big attraction (the bridge). It's not a very big city, but cute. Less modern then up north where I live. The southern part of Korea actually has some less developed areas that were actually nice to see after living in the big city.

Before heading to the place where we needed to go to get the ferry to Jeju-do, we visited a wetlands. I didn't imagine to see wetlands?! See if you can find me!!

Road Trip part 1

From December 26th-January 4th, I went on a road trip all around Korea. I went with 3 others, none of which I knew before going, but I was in need of adventure, so I went and it turned out to be an amazing trip. Though there were 4 of us for the long haul, we met many people in the different places that joined us for parts of the trip. I think in all, we traveled with about 15 different people at one point or another. It was really interesting to see how it all worked out and fun to meet so many different people and see so much of Korea. I have a TON of pictures from the trip, so I decided I'd write a 3 part blog about the trip. This is part 1!! And this picture first picture is the car we lived out of for the trip.

We left Seoul on the morning of the 26th and the first stop was Gyeongju to see Daereung-won Tumuli Park that is full of ancient burial mounds. There were tons of the mounds that were especially big. There are smaller mounds all over the country side. Every time we went hiking we would see more.

Next stop was Golgul Temple where we did a temple stay. We stayed the night at the Buddhist temple and did what they did for a day. We learned how to meditate, do some of the Sunmudo moves (the martial arts that this temple is known for), and even had to wake up at 4am to do there ceremony which included bowing, chanting, and more meditation. It was a really interesting experience. My favorite part was that they food. Buddhists are vegetarians, so I could eat everything they served!! The video is from a little demonstration they put on about the Sunmudo.




After a night at the Temple, we stopped by the Bulguksa Temple before heading to Busan, the second largest city in Korea. Me and Se-Jeong are rubbing the boar because it's suppose to bring us wealth.

In Busan we met up with more people, while also bringing 2 along from Gyeongju. We walked around the city a bit, took a ferry tour ride to see the coast better, and enjoyed the ocean.

Because Busan is on the coast, they are known for seafood. They eat some really crazy stuff! The seafood market was really entertaining! The other picture is from a restaurant we ate at for lunch. I thought while I was on the topic of food I should add this one. There are so many side dishes that I usually just don't order anything and I eat the side dishes, since the main dish is usually meat, and the side dishes are mostly vegetables. It's incredible how much food they give you.

Just on the outskirts of Busan is Haedong Yonggungsa. It's a Buddhist temple on the cliffy shore. It was a really beautiful place, a bit touristy, but still cool. They had statues of all the different Chinese animals that represent the year you're born in. I'm the year of the rat.