A weekend away from it all

I am sitting at Holly's coffee shop after another amazing weekend.
It is Lunar New Year here. The holiday is just as much of a big deal here as it is in China or Vietnam. Welcome, year of the snake! Most of the things I know about Lunar New Year are from my Vietnamese experiences. So, tonight I had pho. The pho wasn't as bad as the bowl I had in Jukjeon, but it wasn't good either. I asked if the ladies in the kitchen were Vietnamese and they were. I guess they have to make it Korean style. I was very excited to say Chuc Mung Nam Moi to them. When I worked at Vietnamese Association, I was forced to say it in front of the board members. I will never ever forget how to say Happy New Year in Vietnamese. So I said it to the kitchen ladies at the restaurant. At first, they stared at me blankly. I said it again. Nothing. I tried one more time and they say "Oooooh! Chuc Mung Nam Moi!" Their faces lit up like fireworks and my heart was full of joy. I think I made their day. They certainly made mine!!

Friday, was kind of a lackluster day. Nothing seemed to be going right. The next day, I met up with my friends Nadia and Andy to go to Samcheok (which is on the eastern seaboard of Korea). I was very grateful to them, because all of the Aran staff was busy and I didn't want to waste a three day weekend.(They are so precious and few.)I already knew it would be a good time because I was having fun before we even got on the bus. Getting a bus ticket is usually no problem, but Lunar New Year is like Christmas. It is so so busy to travel. The bus ticket homepage is in Korean, so we had no choice, but to go to the station as early as we could. After we purchased our tickets, we had about two hours to kill. We went and got breakfast...talked to some lady about Korean politics, grabbed a Cass and walked around. Buildings in Korea have so many shops in them of all varieties! They have rooms where you can go to kiss, not love motels, but kissing rooms. They also have movie rooms that I think are basically to sit in and kiss. Koreans live with their parents well into their 30's sometimes. So funny to walk around and see all the stores they jam pack into one high rise building.

(Blog break....they are playing Little Drummer Boy in the coffee shop!! It is February 11th!!! aiyiyi)

Anyway, we boarded the bus and it took about 4 hours. I don't mind riding the bus. It gives me a lot of time to think. When we arrived, we got a love motel. (This is standard routine. It is nothing like the States.) I kept telling them how cute and classy they are, but of course we get a crappy one and now I think they don't believe me...It was fine.

We went straight to the beach. I don't know why it was so much warmer, but it was. It was beautiful!!! We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get fresh fish. We go inside a restaurant, take off our shoes, look at the menu, and nothing was under 50,000won ($50ish) We put on our shoes, apologize and leave. We walk up and down the streets and nothing is open. Some doors are unlocked, but we get shooed out. Oi! We find a place and it is open, but the smell is soooo unbearable. I start laughing uncontrollably and we have to leave here too! Finally, finallllly, we find a cute place with an adorable waitress and eat. She recommends some nightlife for us and we have a nice relaxing evening.

The next day, we get up around 7ish and head to the cave. I haven't been to a cave since grade school. Is Jesse James still hanging out inside Meramec Caverns??? There are two to choose from and we chose the one that seemed the prettiest. It turns out it was 1.7 Kilometers STRAIGHT up a mountain. I have my snow boots on and a gigantic bag with my clothes. I am dying and meanwhile an elderly couple is keeping pace with us. Embarrassing~ The cave was beautiful once we got there and I am glad we did it. There was even a bridge to resolve us from our sins. (Thank God, cause I needed some resolving!) The virgin Mary made an appearance in the carvings of the cave. There was a mannequin of a monk who allegedly went in the cave and was never to be seen again. You can make wishes to him. He was very scary.
On the way out the tram was working and we got a ride down the mountain. There were magnificent views that I just couldn't capture on camera. Creek beds, trees, and mountains as far as the eye could see. I was so happy to be in the fresh air.



Next stop? Haeesindang Park. This essentially is a phallic statue park. Legend has it that a virgin was swept out to sea. Her love was so sad. (Excuse my language here, but this is the legend). The sea was cursed and hardly any fish were caught! One day, a fisherman masturbated into the sea and the fishing industry was revived. They honor her by a small shrine and phallic symbols. When I die, I hope you guys do the same for me :)
I can't lie. It was awesome. We acted 12 years old by taking inappropriate pictures and giggling. It was a bit bothersome because there were sooooo many children and families there too. Google this place....Awkward! The park itself was right next to the sea and was just so serene and gorgeous! It truly was so beautiful.






I came home rested and happy. I am so glad that we were able to get out of Seoul! Andy and Nadia are perfect travel buddies!