Sunday, November 20, 2016

Tea Time: Our Trip to Boseong

Last weekend we were finally able to embark on a trip that we’ve had to reschedule several times, to a place that we’ve anxiously anticipated seeing: Boseong, a region in the very southern part of the peninsula, which is famous for its green tea!

The first time we saw that the organized trip was available was the first weekend of October, but we had a school event to host; the next time the trip was offered, I had a bad cold in late October. Finally, we managed to sign up for the last Boseong trip of the year through this particular company, in mid-November.

There are several companies that organize trips around Korea that are foreigner-friendly; that is, they take care of travel, itinerary, accommodation, meals, and an English-speaking guide for a fixed cost. The cost is quite reasonable, for all the planning involved and amenities included. When we went to Ulleungdo in September, we went with Adventure Korea; this Boseong trip was through Goh Travel Korea; and we’re planning a trip to a hot spring with WinK. We loved our trip with Adventure – it was easy and extremely well-organized. Our first experience with Goh left much to be desired, but Boseong was still breathtaking.

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6 to the sound of water pouring. To our horror, we saw that our toilet had backed up and overflown – with dirty water. I won’t get into the details, but it was terrible and stressful. We had to leave our apartment by 7:15 to be at the station on time for the bus. Luckily, a co-worker took care of the issue and we couldn’t thank her enough. However, due to the fiasco, we nearly missed the bus that would take us to Boseong! Luckily, it seemed, the bus was delayed. Soon, though, we would find out that this was a theme throughout the whole trip.
"Maisan" = "two horses"

Selfie at Tapsa Temple
An hour late, our bus finally arrived at Maisan (a mountain named “two horses” in Chinese) and saw the Tapsa temple hidden amongst the peaks. We ate bibimbap at a local restaurant before taking an easy hike up a part of the mountain. It was a beautiful fall day, but the minimal hiking meant that we didn’t get to appreciate any staggering views from the top or gain any major sense of accomplishment. Soon, it was already back to the bus.

Delayed again, somehow, we were back on the road and headed further south. There were two more points on our itinerary for the day – next, we were to see the Suncheon Bay Wetlands and then explore the Naganeupseong Folk Village before dinner and retiring for the night in one of the huts there. Soon, though, the guide told us that it was too late to see the wetlands, and that we’d see it in the morning before going to the tea fields; instead of starting our day at 8, we’d meet at 7 to go to the wetlands. Ok, then – to the folk village we go.

When we finally neared our destination, the guide announced, once again, that the tour of the village wouldn’t happen because the sun had already set. We could meet at 6am to tour the village, if we desired. We grumbled. So far, on a day where three distinct activities had been planned, we’d only accomplished one. It was dinner time. We ate fish, rice, eggs, pork, kimchi, sprouts – typical Korean dishes – at the folk village before it was time for room assignments. The after-dinner process was chaotic. First, we were each to receive a muffin and tea bag for our breakfast (only to find, when we reached our hut, that there was no kettle to use  for tea in the morning…), and this took about 20 minutes. The room assignment process took far too much time and was poorly organized, but finally Tony and I were off to find our hut in the dark – there was little lighting in the village.

Our hut was tiny but cozy – we learned quickly how luxurious the heated floor system can be when you’re chilled. (Instead of central heating like in the States or stoves/estufas like I grew accustomed to in Chile, Korean heat comes from the floors. It makes sense – they sit on the floor to eat, and their beds don’t have frames, but rather they sleep on the floor as well.) Of course, I had to kill half a dozen spiders in the tiny (sink-less) bathroom, but these are the things we do for our loved ones J.

Once settled and having deposited our backpacks, we ventured out once again to explore the dark village, as it was only 8 o’clock in the evening. We wandered around the interweaving pathways and climbed up to the top of the fortress wall that surrounded and protected the entire village, which has survived since the 14th century! We managed to stroll the entire wall from start to finish, noticing the empty moat below on the outside, and seeing little else besides thatched roofs, indecipherable flags, and a pond or two. It was a serene, silent evening.
A foggy view at dawn

In the morning, we woke at 6:30 and took one more quick walk before reaching the bus with our cups of tepid tea-water. It was a pity we couldn’t stay just a half-hour longer to see the sun rise over the mountains from the fortress wall, but perhaps we would have had the time if the itinerary hadn’t been delayed the previous day.

Next, we were on to the Wetlands park in Suncheon, which is home to the only wetlands that connect directly to the sea. We wandered the planked, dock-like pathways through the reeds and munched our muffins, and spent about an hour hiking a small mountain within the park for outstanding, panoramic views from the top. On the way up, the pathway forked, and we had the choice of the “hard road” or  the “road of meditation.” I bet you can’t guess which one we chose…
View of the wetlands

Lunch - culinary tea!
Finally, we were on to Boseong, what we’d been waiting for all along! We arrived at a tea plantation – amid the peaks of stunning fall foliage, the infinite rows of Camellia sinensis. It was worth the wait, to be surrounded by such natural, healthful beauty. There, we climbed once again the steep incline around the bushes and through the cedar trees, and every view was breathtaking. After admiring our surroundings for some time, we had lunch on-site: Tony got jajangmyan (black noodles) which were made with green tea, and I ordered donkasse (pork cutlet) which was sprinkled with matcha and served with a side of green tea rice. Delicious! In the store, we purchased matcha and loose-leaf green tea, and surprisingly, though I originally had planned to buy a teapot (I mean, we’re in the TEA CAPITAL OF KOREA, can you blame me?), we bought two matching mugs – complete with steeping baskets and lids. We left very pleased with our purchase! We headed back to the bus with a green tea ice cream, ready for the last stop of the tour.
 
Simply spectacular.
Autumn is beautiful no matter where in the world it happens.
 


Traditional tea table-setting
Finally, we reached a smaller, family-owned tea farm. There, we partook in a proper tea-drinking ceremony, where the proprieter taught us the correct form of sharing tea with others in traditional Korean style. I assumed the role of the pengju, who serves the tea to those around him/her. We sampled a green tea and a black tea, as well as biscuits and breads made with the same ingredients, all of which were harvested at that same farm. After the ceremony and plenty of samples, we made handmade chocolates that we got to fill with nuts, cranberries, and, of course, green tea leaves.
Chocolate-making fun!

As always, when this excursion ended, we were behind schedule. After a jam-packed weekend and little sleep, we were ready to be home again. But, alas, we had to travel all the way from the southern coast up to Seoul before taking the subway home. The itinerary had promised we would return to Seoul around 6, which meant we should be home to Songtan no later than 8:30. Surprise! We arrived at our front door at 11 o’clock at night – without having eaten dinner. Exhausted yet relieved (especially when we saw that our bathroom was spotless, thank God), we turned in for the night. On the bright side we were able to check two things off our list: first, we checked Boseong off our Korea bucket list. Next, we checked Goh Travel off our future travel plans.

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