Jeju-do Part 4

Well, for our last day in Jeju we forced ourselves to wake up at 6:30am to go to the top of Sunrise Peak to watch the sunrise.  We didn't know it was going to take us 45 minutes or so to get to the top, so we actually missed the sunrise but it was a wonderful view anyway.

After we came back down from Sunrise Peak, we were so exhausted from the past couple of days that we went back to the motel and went back to bed for another hour or so.

When we woke back up and finally checked out of the motel, we started our exploring again.  This time, our first stop was the Folk Village.  Now, on Jeju-do there is a Folk Village Museum and and actual Folk Village.  We went to the village.  Here, people still live in the old style houses.  With the exception of 2 or 3 of the oldest homes that are now preserved and open for viewing the rest of the area is an village with homes, restaurants, stores, etc. 

When we first arrived, we were starved so we went to one of the restaurants there to eat. 

Many of the things on the menu were similar to other traditional korean restaurants but there were also things like pheasant and horse.  Which led me to saying something I NEVER thought I would ever hear coming out of my mouth:  "That horse was delicious."


After eating, we looked around and took a number of photos.  The traditional houses had small courtyards around them and often areas sectioned off for gardens and pigpens.  It was really picturesque.

Next we went to see the lava tubes.  Jeju has some of the longest lava tubes in the world which are supposed to be incredibly beautiful.  When we arrived at about 2:30pm, we were told that the last tour starts at 12 because it takes so long-- and you have to make a reservation 2 days in advance.  So, we didn't get to see the longest tubes, but they did refer us to a smaller one about 10 minutes away.... so off we went.

These tubes were interesting to see, but they only had one major formation.

When we finished there, we decided to head back up to the airport area to find a place for the night since planned to return the rental car that night then just take a taxi to the airport in the morning.  On the drive, we passed yet another beautiful beach and even though it was raining we decided tat we had to at least wade out into the water since we were on a tropical island and hadn't gone in the water even once.

Well, the water looked good but it was ice cold.

The raincoats did a pretty good job of keeping us dry, however as we were finishing taking pictures I slipped on a rock and tumbled into the water-- raincoat, leather jacket, cell phone and all.  I did keep the camera out of the water though!! lol

Well, after changing clothes in the car we drove on into Jeju-si (Jeju City) and got our motel for the night.  We found a place just a couple of blocks from the car rental company so it was easy to return our car-- and they let us take their free shuttle back to the airport the next morning for our flight out.

We rounded out our trip with one more really good fish dinner, a good night's sleep, then up in time to catch our 8am flight back.

All in all, a wonderful trip.  I just wish we'd had more time.

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Jeju-do Part 3

After climbing Hallasan, we were looking for a hotel for the night when we stumbled onto a part of the island on the southwestern coastline that was used as the set for a very famous (in Korea, anyway) drama named, "All In".

We stopped and took a few pictures, then ventured on our way to find a motel and get some food and a good night's sleep.


The next morning, we woke up late (and VERY, VERY sore) and decided to make our way east along the southern coast of the island and see the various sites as we came to them.  Our first stop was at a beach area that was composed of boulders instead of sand.  We didn't realize it until we were there but this was to be the third time in a row we just "stumbled upon" one of the sites we wanted to see.

Jeju is famous for its women divers.  These ladies, most of them elderly, go out early in the morning diving for fresh seafood. Some bring it back to different restaurants along the coast.  Others prepare fresh sushi for you right there on the beach.  As we pulled up, at about 11am, the little ladies were all racing up on their motor scooters, still in their wetsuits, with their baskets full of seafood on their backs.



There were plastic tables and chairs set up along a walkway beside the water where the ladies would prepare and serve what they had caught that morning.

Apparently the rules are that each diver is only allowed to serve one table at a time, so the sooner they can get there with their wares the more customers one can potentially have that day.

The little grandma who served us was 70 years old.  We ate conch, sea bream, sea urchin, and something else (maybe octopus, I forget).  It was really delicious.

Our next stop that morning was the volcanic cliffs, composed of hexagonal columns created when lava flowed into the ocean and crystallized.



From there, we stopped to see some waterfalls that were quite nice. 

Over the river containing the falls there was a large bridge with an incredible scenic view.

From there we continued on to an area designated as "Beauty Spot"... I'm taking that to be a bad translation for "Scenic outlook" or something of that nature.  The views of the cliffs and the water in that area were really beautiful.

Next was Sod Island...

 And finally, we arrived at Sunrise Peak... ironically just in time for sunset.

All of this was in just one day, so needless to say we were absolutely exhausted (again).  We got a motel just a few minutes away from Sunrise Peak and walked around the corner to find some local seafood.  The restaurant we ate at a meal of sea bream prepared 2 different ways.  One was roasted and the other was prepared as sushi.  Absolutely delicious again.

After a really good meal, we crashed... HARD!

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DongHwaSa

This weekend I visited some friends in Daegu, then did a little sightseeing. I didn't have as much time as I would have liked but I did get to see DongHwaSa.

The weather was really nice so it made for a wonderful day just to be outside.

On the bus to Dongwhasa, a really nice elderly gentleman asked if he could sit beside me so he could practice his English.  I was happy to have him there, since he also interpreted everything for me as we went along. Once we arrived at the temple, he told me to come with him to get some food since it was free there. They had a very simple kitchen/dining area where  they were serving bibimbap (rice with vegetables) and a bean soup.  Well-- I say they were serving, but in fact you served yourself and washed your own dishes when you were finished.  The food was really tasty.

I found it really funny that on the train home from Daegu, I read an article in the newspaper about how "temple food" is becoming very popular/trendy because it is so healthy and tastes so good.  Who would have thought Buddhist monks would be trendsetters?

The temple complex itself was nice but not as elaborate as some of the others I've seen so far.  Apparently, the large temple is only about 20 years old.  However, the main attraction there is not the temple but the 33 meter (108 ft) tall Buddha. 

Unfortunately, they were doing construction on the plaza around the statue so you couldn't get close to it.  But, the photo below should give an idea of its size/proportions.  Just compare it to the children sitting in front of the fence.

I got quite a few other really nice photos while I was there.  Here are just a few of them:

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Food! Food! Food!

One of the things that you immediately notice when entering a new culture is the food. Every ethnicity, every culture has its unique foods that evolved over hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years. The Italians are known for pasta, the Germans for sauerkraut, and the Koreans for kimchi. But the "tastes" of the food go beyond just the "trademark" foods.

What sparked my thinking about this was lunch with one of my Korean friends this week. He was at my apartment and I was really tired so he volunteered to fix us some food. I took a short nap on the sofa and woke up to peanut butter, jelly, pickles, and fried eggs on toast. The funny thing is, once I took off the pickles, the peanut butter, jelly, and egg sandwich actually tasted good.

So, I thought I'd show some of the foods I've learned to really enjoy since I've been here.

  Dak Galbi is chicken with cabbage, onions, sweet potato and sesame leaves cooked with a medium spicy red pepper sauce.

Galbi JJim is "steamed chicken", literally a whole chicken slow cooked with potatoes, carrots, onion, mushrooms, peppers, and glass noodles with soy sauce.

One of my personal favorites is buddae jjigae, aka. soldier stew.  It is a hodge-podge of everything thrown into one pot:  hotdog franks, spam, sausage, rice cake, onion, green onion, kimchi, pepper sauce, sliced cheese, ramen noodles.

This is from one of the local carry-out places.  Fried rice, with soup and assorted sides (you always get lots of sides with Korean food).

 

Finally, while I've never eaten it myself (yet) beondaegi is cooked silkworm larvae.  It's supposed to be really good with soju (korean sweet potato vodka), but I wonder if you need the soju to be able to handle eating it!

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Six Months!!!

Wow!

It's hard to believe it's been a month since I've posted anything. And even harder to believe that I've been in Korea for 6 months already...

To update everyone on the past month:

First, I had a cast on my leg for about 3 weeks. When the doctors took it off to see how the healing was progressing, I was given a good prognosis. They said that I may only need 2 months of rehab instead of 6 and I was given a hinged brace to wear. I'm much more mobile now and can do pretty much whatever (walking, dancing, etc.) as long as my knee doesn't twist. The brace keeps it really stable so other than being achy it's not that bad unless I stand on it too long or do something like slip in the shower.

So... what've I been up to in the past month then? Well, most of the time was just going to work and coming home, but I was able to do a few things for fun.

Last week, I told one of my Korean friends that I really needed to just get out and do something, so I wanted to go somewhere in town I've never been before. He asked what kind of things I like and I told him I like good music, dancing, meeting people... so he took me to a "booking club".





"Booking clubs" are a very unique thing in Korean culture arising from the lack of (or differences in) socialization skills. One of the first things you notice as a teacher is that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get boys and girls of any age to interact at all. Now, while it may seem normal in the U.S. for kindergarten boys and girls to think the other sex "has cooties", here such actions are not limited small children. Even as adults those behaviors are still ingrained in many.

As a result, a type of night club developed that force interaction. At these clubs, there is usually a band or DJ and a dance floor, but most of the club is actually tables/booths set up for small groups (4-6 people) to drink and talk. Men go to a club with their male friends, are seated at a table, and buy a "set" of drinks and appetizers. Women go with their girlfriends, are seated at their table, and order a drink or two. Then "table managers" (think hosts in a restaurant) go around, take the women by the hand (or sometimes almost drag them by the arm) to tables of men. If the women like the men they will stay and talk for a while getting to know them. If the women don't like the men, they will have a drink and get up and leave after a couple of minutes. Both the men and women who go know exactly what to expect (well, the Koreans know what to expect even if Americans don't--lol).



The women put up a pretense of not wanting to go to the different tables to meet the men. There were two women in their late 20's at the table next to us who actually would act like kindergartners every time the table manager would come get them to go to visit another group of men...making faces, digging in their feet as though they didn't want to go. Yet, they came to the club knowing it was a booking club, were there when we arrived and were still there when we left a couple of hours later.

There were probably 1000-1500 people at the club and it had a great show with a variety of DJ's and good music. The sets of music rotated between dance music (where everyone would get up, move to the dance floor, and the men would dance with their friends and the women with theirs) and more "low-key" sets where everyone would sit down again to mingle. I didn't realize it was a booking club that my friend was taking me to, and really wasn't looking to meet anyone there, but I'd heard about booking clubs and had been curious to see what they're like since they're such a "Koreanism".







My friend and I didn't have the managers bring any girls to our table, since that's not why we were there but I did have girls approach me 3 different times on the dance floor to talk to me. My friend told me that's never happened to him or any of his friends, so I'm assuming that's because I'm a foreigner so I don't fit anywhere in the Korean hierarchy of social structure and therefore the "normal" rules of behavior don't apply.

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