Earth Day in Songnisan

Without even paying any mind to the date, Tony and I eagerly agreed to accompany our director, Heather, on a weekend hike in Songnisan National Park, only to realize at the end of the day that we spent Earth Day in the best and most appropriate way - surrounded by her bountiful beauty and breathtaking wonder.

After getting lost for a bit in the car, we finally made it to Songni Mountain and began our ascent. Mind you, hiking with Koreans is always a dangerous task - they're born in the mountains and have evolved to be natural climbers who hop up the steep rocks without a single hesitation or drop of sweat. It's a fact.

It's worth the risk. :)

After an hour and a half of climbing, we reached our destination: the dwelling place and temple of an old Buddhist monk. Using Heather as his translator, he invited us in to share lunch with him - this meal was made exclusively (perhaps minus the rice) from ingredients grown on his mountainside: weeds, herbs, and vegetables; soup, kimchi, and lettuce wraps. I think this may have been the healthiest meal I've eaten in my life. The monk has lived at this spot for over thirty years, and he only comes down once a year or so, which means he lives off the land and therefore lives an extremely healthy vegetarian lifestyle. Though he appeared to be in his fifties, this man was 71 years old and has been studying Buddhism since he was sixteen years old. What an incredible human!

Our new monk friend's home and grounds

I don't think he ever complains about the view or noisy neighbors!!

After lunch, he proudly showed us his grounds, read Tony's soul (yet another person tells me how lucky I am to have such a loving man as a husband!), and shared his "treasure" with us - his own homemade tea! Before I had the chance to use my limited Korean vocabulary to tell him "I love tea!" he pulled out a two-liter plastic bottle filled with a root bathing in some liquid and poured a splash into each of the four teacups he has set out for us. "Yak cha," he said; "medicine tea." I took a tentative sip - tea, my eye! This tasted like grain alcohol and has such effects! Halfway through the second cup, I was feeling a bit drunk! But hey, whatever keeps you healthy and happy when you live alone on a mountain!

He called this tree "천년 나무" or "Thousand Year Old Tree"

I love trees.

After a few hours with our new friend the monk, we descended Songnisan and stopped by a more well-known and more accessible temple, Beopjusa, at the bottom of the mountain. What incredible scenery we found there! A several-story high giant golden Buddha statue; a museum filled with countless miniature golden Buddha figurines; pagodas, cherry blossoms, lanterns, and lakes.

Thank you, Mother Earth, for your ceaseless wonders. I can't express how blessed I am to be able to live on the other side of where my roots are, so that I may explore and enjoy the countless treasures across your diverse lands and seas.

Blossoming

During the first full weekend of April, we welcomed spring by journeying to see the country's most beautiful cherry blossoms in the southern part of the peninsula, in Jinhae and Gyeongju.

We embarked our tour bus at ten til midnight on Friday and traveled through the night before arriving in Jinhae at 6am. We climbed off the bus to see cherry blossom trees as far as the eye could see. And so wandered the streets, sleepy-eyed, breathing in the fresh morning air.

 After three hours of relaxed exploring in Jinhae and another two on the bus, we arrived in Gyeongju, a famous destination for travelers - Korean and foreign - especially during this spring season. In our opinion, the tour was not well organized - we were given rental bikes and five hours to locate various points of interest on a hard-to-follow map. In reality, we struggled to bike through the crowded pathways and couldn't find a single monument from the brochure. Instead, we cycled around the area, got iced coffees, got lost, took some pretty pictures, and ended up ditching our bicycles to enjoy ice cream in the sunshine along the shore of the beautiful lake.

Finally, we checked into our accommodation (typical cheap travel style: sharing with strangers a small, square room filled with floor mats for bedding) and stopped for dinner in a local restaurant with our new roomies.

In the morning, we boarded the bus to a nearby mountain: Namsan. We climbed to the peak to find scenic (though foggy) views, as well as an unexpected mailbox offering free postcards to send home!

A small temple we passed during our hike

Spring.

At the peak.

Across the area, these notorious Buddha statues had been beheaded (look closely!)
because of religious struggles between the people and the power throughout history.

Finally, after descending Namsan, we toured a nearby temple, Bulguksa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built over fifteen centuries ago, this temple has survived devastation - and time - and has been reconstructed time and again after Japanese occupation and religious opposition. At this historical site were found some of the oldest woodblock prints in the entire world.

Before heading back north at the end of our trip, we meandered through a grove of endless cherry blossom trees once more. Having lived in the Washington DC area for two years, I knew that these famed trees were an icon of springtime revival, but nothing I had ever seen before could compare to the infinite cotton candy-pink blooms that spread across the hills and valleys of this region. After viewing these beauties for an entire weekend, each new glimpse took my breath away once again; their magnificence cannot be overstated! The blush confetti that rained down from the branches as a breeze passed by was spectacular, and even the fallen petals that remained on the sidewalks looked like the leftover decor of a springtime wedding ceremony. Truly, these delicate, ephemeral blossoms gently reminded me of the sweet and simple transience of the season and the promise of a beautiful, if fleeting, tomorrow.

Besties in Busan

During the last days March, we welcomed my best friend and her travel companions to Korea just as the warm spring weather decided it wasn't ready yet and hid away for a few more days. We celebrated this short visit by heading straight off to Busan, the second-largest Korean city (after Seoul, of course) for a weekend adventure. I had packed my bag for a spring weekend in the beach city - skirts, light pants, not much else - and immediately regretted it upon arrival. It was chilly, windy, and rained off and on the entire time. But we didn't let that dampen our spirits!

Immediately after work on Friday, we greeted Brittany and her friends Catalina and Win, who had just landed earlier that day after spending about two weeks in Myanmar. Their stay in Korea would be shorter, but we were ready to host some familiar faces. We took the high-speed SRT train for about 2.5 hours southeast to Busan, arriving around 9:30pm. We checked into our guesthouse which was just a couple of beds and only served toast for breakfast, but it was a place to lay our heads at night. Famished, we headed out for Dueji gug-bap, or pork soup rice, a dish famous in Busan. It was hot and comforting, perfect for a chilly, damp night.

Mmmm, comfort food on a chilly night

Soon after, our coworker Taylor arrived with her Korean boyfriend Dongjun and his friend Yoonwon, who are both incredibly sweet. Initially, we had worried about traveling in a group of 8, but these two really helped us figure out how to best manage our time in the city.

Our multicultural group! From left to right: (back) Yoonwon, Tony, Brittany;
(front) Taylor, Win, Catalina, Dongjun, me

After a late night getting everyone acquainted over beer, makoli (Korean rice wine), and snacks; and following too few hours of sleep, we began our hour+ voyage to Beomeosa, a famous Buddhist temple outside of the city. This temple was established in the 7th century! We also heard and caught a glimpse of many visitors chanting and praying together, which was a neat thing to witness.

Besties at Beomeosa

I'll never get over the beautiful details.

Next, we went to the Gukje traditional market back in town. It was enormous! As we shopped, we snacked on lots of street food, like fish cake, corn dogs, soup, fresh juice, shikhe (sweet rice water), red bean, and more. Most of the group also ate some milmyeon (cold noodles), another Busan-famous food, but Brittany and I were so full from the street food, we decided to roam a bit more instead. Britt, Win, and Catalina bought tons of souvenirs and gifts to bring home, and it was cool to be more local than tourist for once; Tony and I are so used to being the foreigners, but now we were somewhere between Dongjun/Yoonwon and Brittany and her friends.

Later, we stopped at the Gamcheon Cultural Village, a very popular site in Busan, known for its colorful buildings and whimsy. So many visitors were roaming around with pins in their hair - little yellow chicks, red fuzzy hearts on springs, sparkling messages in hangeul, and even working plastic pinwheels! I had to buy some for my kindergarteners; they were so cute and whimsical. Our snacking continued: Pikachu-shaped pork cutlet, sugary nut pastries, and even a snack frozen with liquid nitrogen that caused smoke to pour out of our mouths as we ate it! Our tongues were numb and tingly after the experience, but it was unlike anything we've ever done before, and it made for some great photo and video ops. We shopped and took photos of our bright surroundings until he wind whipping our pinwheels became unbearable. Ready to move on, most of us fell asleep in the taxi to our next destination.

Snacking, dragon-style

Hippie pants in the cultural village

Tony says I'm projecting, but this view reminds me of Valparaíso!

Soon we arrived at the beach! Still cold and now quite hungry, we admired the crashing waves and bought some jewelry from a street vendor before settling into a seafood restaurant where we sat on the floor, traditional-style, at tables with built-in grills. We ordered clams and scallops with cheese, ramen soup, mixed fried rice, and plenty of soju (seven bottles, to be exact). This meal was my favorite part of the trip; one of those warm, cozy dinners spent with good company and delicious food; we took our time and savored every bite. Before we knew it, almost two and a half hours had passed and it was past nine o'clock.

This meal was approximately $20 per person.
Including 3 courses, unlimited sides, and booze.
Korea, I love you.

Delicious shellfish on the grill!

Having satisfied our hunger, our moods, and our body temperatures, we headed to a nearby building for some fun at the noraebang - karaoke room! Karaoke is a HUGE pastime throughout Asia, and Koreans love it. After 8 months here, we finally checked this off our list! Brittany sang some Alanis Morisette, Tony and I sang our Aerosmith duet, Win sang Avril Lavigne, and Dongjun and Yoonwon sang some Korean ballads (and Backstreet Boys!); there was even some Frozen thrown in there for Taylor's and my sake (throwing back to our Elsa/Anna costumes for Halloween). We had a blast!

Our last adventure for the evening was mostly thanks to my husband's crazy streak: he changed into his swimsuit and dove into the ocean - at 11pm in 44 degree weather! Tony feels strongly that any body of water visited must be done so fully - with his entire body emerged. So he swam at the Gwangalli Beach as the lights from the famous Gwangandaegyo bridge shone on the water's surface. Meanwhile, the rest of us froze, fully clothed, and cheered him on from the dry sand.

Tony swam here.

The next morning, we had only 6 hours or so left before our train would return us to Pyeongtaek. So, we visited some more tourist spots, did some more shopping, and walked the streets of the markets once more. We enjoyed one more Busan-style lunch, this time of jokpal (cold pig's feet) along with all the typical fixings of a Korean meals - tons of tiny dishes filled with a variety of sides. After lunch, we visited Lotte Department Store, whose name is extremely misleading; this mall is ENORMOUS - over a dozen floors including plenty of restaurants and a movie theater. However, our interest was peaked not by the wares inside the building, but rather the top floor, which was an observatory which offered an amazing aerial view of the entire port city.

Vinegar-soaked pig's feet with veggies

Stormy skies over the harbor

At last, it was time to return to the train station to say goodbye to Busan. We returned to our apartment and rested a bit, had one more dinner at our favorite chicken galbi place nearby with the whole group. Finally it was midnight and we had to work in the morning. We managed to have sleeping spaces set up for all three of our guests (Brittany, Win, and Catalina), plus blankets and pillows, in our little apartment. In the morning, we gave one last hug and farewell to our friends, who would spend their last two days in Seoul before heading back to the USA. Fifty-four hours reunited with my best friend was not enough, but it's a hell of a lot better than zero!

BFF

안녕히 가세요 부산~~~