New Travels

Since Adventure Korea turned out so well as far as getting to meet new people, I am excited to start traveling with them more. I signed up for a weekend Ice Fishing Festival and a trip to Jeju Island within the next couple of months. At the ice fishing festival, they have ice fishing (with your bare hands.. ahh!), sledding, sleigh rides, ice skating and hiking. I have never been sledding before, and I think I might enjoy that more than skiing. They also said they usually get a football game going, which I think would be great fun in the snow.

With the bare hands fishing, they said you can take the fish and bite into it raw right after eating! Gross! I'd feel like Bear Grills from Man vs. Wild if I did something like that, but, I guess I never know how I'll feel about it that day. I did eat a scorpion...

Jeju-do is like the Caribbean Islands of South Korea; it's supposed to be just breathtaking. It will still be winter when we go, and they said the hiking would be easier as a result. The biggest mountain in Korea is on the island, and it's a volcano at the top. I'm so excited to see it! Everyone who goes says it is just amazing (apparantly it will be a nine hour hike, so it better be amazing!). They said we would also get to ride horses on the beach and be able to do/see numerous other traditional things on the island. I am thrilled that I found a way to fill out these winter months. It's so hard to convince myself to get up and go anywhere when it's soooo cold outside. Now I have a good excuse!

I will definitely have to go back to Jeju-do again and enjoy the amazing beaches in the hot humid summer heat (I cannot wait; I've been told it's similar to a Texas summer!).

I also just got my visa for Australia, so I am all set on that trip. It was much easier than I thought; it's completely electronic now. It's quite convenient, but I am a little sad I won't have the actual visa taking up a page in my passport for souvenir. 

My second ski trip.

Here's Dibby when we first got to the top of the mountain. It was soo beautiful (even though the pic is too far away. I was scared to get closer to the edge without being completely prepared to go down!). I might enjoy skiing more if it weren't so crowded everywhere. The other people ruin everything.

We went out (at least tried to) with two girls that we met on the trip. This was our dinner - we had Domino's Pizza! It was my first time to have pizza from an American chain out here, and it was really tasty. It's pretty much the same, except they have some particularly unusual options for toppings. The one I remember the most was crab and pasta. We stuck with toppings we knew.

This was me after skiing. Haha. It's the only picture I have of proof, and it's really not much proof of me even skiing. It'll have to do.

This weekend I went on a mini-vacation with Adventure Korea. I have been skiing only once before, about 8 years ago, and I did not like it all. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give it another try, since I would be around a lot of foreigners and it would also be a potential opportunity to meet new people.

This is a tour group that you can sign up for online; they have a lot of different things planned for foreigners on the weekends here in South Korea. For me, it is the best way to travel, because it's much cheaper and you can go with a big group of people from all over the world that speak English.

My friend Justin came along, and he is an experienced skier. Once we arrived, we decided to go to the top and take the "easy" way down so I could get the hang of it. I should have known better. We took a blue down first, and it was such a challenge. Ahh, I just felt like I was fighting with my entire body the whole way. I made it down alive, only falling a couple of times. Once we got to the green areas I felt like a pro. I was going pretty fast and weaving and dodging people. That was a lot of fun.

We went back up and came down another route with blues and greens and I didn't fall once. But the next round, we took a difficult blue and I hated it. I ate snow hard and twisted my knee. It can be sooo scary! I didn't want to put weight on my knee on that steep of a slope so I ended up sliding down the mountain part-way, (which was just as scary as skiing down if not even moreso. I had absolutely no control, and I don't handle that well.) and then finishing off the greens slowly. 

I am so glad that I gave skiing another try, but it is definitely not for me. It is so much work for so little reward. At least this time I actually skied quite a bit, but my entire body is just on overload the entire time. It's so painful! If I were to ever go back, I would stick to the greens for sure. I am usually extremely competitive in sports (I guess that's why I've busted it hard both times...), but skiing just isn't worth it to me. I am definitely not a cold weather person, and to be in the cold and then be in pain for hours has no appeal to me.

But, we did meet a few really cool people. The group was more separated than I anticipated. They put us in a hostel, which I have never done before and was excited/curious about. It ended up being a really cool place to stay. There were four bunk beds in each room, so they put us in groups of 8. It was so strange deciding who to stay with since no one knew each other. It felt like a weird high school "pick a group" situation where someone is always going to feel awkward and left out. Our room worked out really well luckily. Everyone was just chill and normal (I've found these qualities to be particularly rare in foreigners in South Korea). But, we never met anyone from the other rooms. I think a lot of people on the trip were really serious about skiing, whereas I just went to check it out and hopefully meet new people. 

They let you ski until 4 am at this resort! I've never heard of anything like that. Justin went on a night ski, but he was the only one of us that wanted to go out again. We went in search of the other waeguken (foreigners) to see what was happening. There was absolutely no one to be found. It was so strange to me, because I feel like I could go on a ski trip in the states and have an amazing time without ever going on the mountain. There's so much else going on. Here, everyone was just really into skiing. We found a couple of really expensive restaurants and bars which weren't particularly appealing (even if they were there was no one in them). They had a karaoke bar that we didn't find until after it closed, a noraebang (singing room) and a bowling alley. We didn't see a single foreigner in any of these places. It was so strange. Plus, half of the people in our room had gone to the sauna so they went to sleep really early. We finally gave up and called it a night, but there were still people coming in just starting to ski. It must have been around 2 am by that point. It seems so unsafe to ski like that!

This weekend was definitely a Korea experience. They are so pro drinking and partying out here it always surprises me, but then one place where it is okay to do those things in America, they don't have anything like that. It was very interesting.

Travel Updates!

I'm going to Australia!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooo excited. I just booked my flight. I will be gone from February 29 - March 4. I cannot wait; now I just have to figure out the best/cheapest way to get my visa...

The DMZ

This weekend I went to the DMZ, which is the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. It was an unexpected disappointment. I assumed that I wouldn't really care about being able to see North and South Korea at the same time since I knew they would both just look like land, but I did think I would enjoy the rest of the tour.

The entire experience was so touristy, it ruined a lot of it for me. We did get the chance to go into one of the tunnels the North Koreans dug trying to escape to the South during the war and that was really interesting. We had to hunch over the entire time since we were all too tall, and we wore these hard hats. It was a good thing since every one of us hit our heads at least once! 

We had five stops total, the first was the Freedom Bridge, which is blocked off halfway through because it becomes North Korea. Then we went to eat traditional onju (side dishes) at a restaurant close to the DMZ. The food was very traditional, but nothing else was. They even had westernized bathrooms (I was sooo excited about that; what a rarity!). But, it just felt tacky to me. It was like we were at Disney World or something. They had all of this DMZ paraphernalia  like hats and t-shirts, even DMZ rice. The bags said the DMZ on them and they had barbed wire painted across the front. It was over the top.

Next we went to a museum where the third tunnel was, and that was interesting. Before checking out the tunnel, they made us all watch a movie about the history of Korea. It was so dramatic! They had a little Korean girl walking through the grass crying alongside a fence that was supposed to represent the DMZ. At the end she was standing with no fence in a white dress with a smile on her face. I might have really enjoyed a short documentary about the two Koreas, but this was so cheesy and so obvious.

They did not let us take pictures in many places, but there really wasn't anything to take pictures of. We could walk up to this wall on top of a mountain at the lookout point and glance through binoculars. 

After that, they took us to the subway station that will run from Seoul, the South Korean capital, to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital at a TBD date. Our tour guide said repeatedly that after Kim Jong-il died, then the Koreas would be restored. Everything was, "in a few years time."

I think every Korean I've spoken with about reunification is in favor of it. It will be interesting to see what happens when he dies. Although the tour was anticlimactic, I am definitely glad to be able to check it off the list.

Weather Update

Today, there's a high of 26°. It is currently 24°, but feels like 11°. And, IT'S SUNNY. This is going to be a difficult winter.

I really felt like my face was going to burn off it was so cold yesterday on the way to work! I had on tights, a really thick and warm jacket, gloves, two turtlenecks and a beanie that covered my ears. It wasn't enough. I needed a giant warm scarf to wrap around my face like they do in A Christmas Story. And then, I needed earmuffs to wear on top of my beanie. This is just the beginning-- I am sooo scared of this winter! I cannot imagine getting used to cold like this. The wind was unbearable, and December is their mildest winter month. AHHH. I'm definitely comfortable with my Texas-style winters. Maybe they'll let me fly back until mid-February. That'd be lovely.

What a great trip!

There is so much to tell from this trip! I am going to put captions under each of the photos, and then at the bottom go into detail if you are interested in reading further. I cannot believe what an amazing vacation it was; we learned so much about China and their unique culture. 

This was a market area pretty close to our hotel (about a 20 minute walk). There were a couple of restaurants close, and we came upon this the first afternoon. They have all of the raw meat on the stick and strange animals to eat, plus there were all kinds of Chinese trinkets and souvenirs for sale. 

This was our first night out on a main restaurant street near our hotel. We were in a great location, a 2o minute walk or really cheap cab ride could get us anywhere we want to go. China seemed to have restaurants clumped together, so if you weren't on a main street like this, you might be out of luck. But, we were fine. This was the night we ate a meal with leaves and twigs and stuff in it. It was the only thing we ate that wasn't delicious. It was really strange.

This was on the other side of the market we went to the first day. I tried to upload these pics in order, but it didn't work out. They had a lot of really cool things, some of which I might have bought had the women not followed me around hassling me to purchase something. They get right in your face and say,"How much, How much" if you so much as turn in the direction of their items. I realized I do not respond well to that kind of pressure. I would have considered buying a lot of this stuff had they not been so pushy.

This was us getting on the plane on the way home. When we arrived at the airport, we kept looking at all of the new and modern stuff, as the plane just got farther and farther away. They didn't even put us on a hanger in the old section. We parked in the middle of nowhere and had to get off the plane onto the airstrip. We took a bus to the airport. It was so strange! I was really looking forward to seeing the new and modern airport, but we saw nothing good. Everything inside was really dark and old. That was so much different than I was expecting.

This is a Buddha statue at the Lama Temple. This was the temple of the 14th emperor's son (I think), and then it was turned into a Lamasery. It was really beautiful inside, but we should have done that first. We had already seen the Forbidden City, and it paled in comparison. For me, now that I've seen the Forbidden City, I don't think I'll ever need to see an Asian Temple again. In my experience thus far, they are all the same. And, I'm pretty sure nothing can compare to the Forbidden City.

This was so of the food offered to us in the street market. Mmmm. Well, neither of us gave the larvae or giant bugs a try, but we did go for the scorpions and seahorses. That's right,  I ate a scorpion.

Our friend Stretch that we met on our tour and then Dibby riding up the mountain to the Great Wall. They had such interesting ways of transporting us to the middle of the mountain, none of which were very safe. This way we were all on this track, and they had the restraints that came over our shoulders. They didn't latch into place though, so if there were any force put upon us, they would fly up and we would fall. It was really reassuring. 

After the second day of the Great Wall Tour, our tour guide took us to this pottery making factory where we had lunch. A woman from the factory gave us a tour of the people making everything. It was really cool to see it transform from just copper to all these beautiful shapes and colors. There is so much detail that goes into everything they make.

This was another section of the pottery making tour. Here they were adding all the color to everything. They mix everything in these bowls and then hand paint.

This was our last day down at the market by our apartment. Our first night we promised ourselves we would eat weird things on our China trip, so we went down there to make it happen. The scorpion was actually really good. It tasted like the skin on fried chicken. Mmm..

After coming down the mountain on the toboggans (which were really cool, but kind of scary!), these guys would pose with you for a picture. When I look at it now it seems so scary, but I never even felt the blade.

 
We were about to head down the mountain. We were on something similar to a bobsled track, sans ice of course. It was pretty crazy. It seemed like all of the ways they had for you to get down from the Great Wall would be really easy for people to hurt themselves. I guess that's just how China does it.

Some stairs on the Great Wall. And yes, they were that steep! Some parts were really difficult because of how steep and uneven the steps were. One would be a foot high, then the next just a couple of inches. We definitely had to pay attention to our footing the entire time. Nothing about it made sense or was uniform.

One of the views of the wall.

Looking out at what used to be Mongolia (I think -- it was really hard to tell what side they were defending sometimes, because it swerved and horseshoed all over the place. The structure of the wall didn't make much sense to us).

More scenery.

This is how we came down from the mountain the first day. In the line we had to wait in, they had us stuck in there like cattle. It was such a small space. Even I was being touched on both sides by the bars at all times. I have definitely had to overcome my claustrophobia being in Asia. You absolutely have no choice but to be on top of everyone at all times. 

We thought this was so funny and wild when we first saw it, but then the next day the toboggans were so much less safe. It was quite an experience either way.

This was on one of the steep inclines up to the top our first day. I don't think this picture does the incline justice. It was unbelievable. These were so much more difficult than the uneven stairs. I was slipping all over the place. I didn't realize how important traction on my shoes would be for the Great Wall.

Like I said, it really was that steep. 

This was us when we were just starting out on the first day.

This is one of the pillars on the main temple at the Forbidden City. If you look closely you can see all the dragons. Dragons are so important in Asain cultures; the Forbidden City as well as many other important things in Beijing are built upon what's called "The Dragon Line". The Chinese believe it gives them good luck to walk on it, and everything built on it is well-balanced. Balance is extremely important to them.

This was part of the Emperor's stuff in the Forbidden City.

More Forbidden City...

This was our tour group and guide standing on the Dragon line. I think he was explaining yin and yang and fung shui. Fung shui literally translates to wind water. It is the combining of the two elements and bringing a balance between everything (from what I understood). But, at least that's two Chinese words down!

The entrance to the Forbidden City. The water was icing over, but it is slightly difficult to see.

Beijing to Come

We arrived back in South Korea last night from Beijing. It was an unbelievable trip. It feels like we accomplished so much. Everything ran smoothly, and we didn't have any trouble finding our way around. 

It was really nice that we already live in Asia. We were able to bypass all the initial overwhelming feelings and just dive right into the city. With that said, it was very different than Korea. The Chinese people were very friendly, and went out of their way to talk to us like they do in Korea, but I cannot think of anything else the two countries have in common. It was a bit surprising how different they are, but I do not know if we would have recognized these differences as much if we were not living here.

Well, I have some great photos to post and tons and tons of information. Check back in about 12 hours and it should be up!

And, I ate a scorpion! Two of them, actually. Get ready to see those pics :)