Not your typical day at the beach

Monday morning we woke up bright and early and made our way to Haendai Beach. There just happened to be a Starbucks on the way, so we stopped and got coffee first. Have I ever mentioned that I have an affinity for Starbucks?





Haendai beach is by far the most crowded beach I've ever seen. There were at least 300,000 umbrellas on this beach, and close to a million people. We got there good and early, so we secured an umbrella in a decent spot. Despite the multitudes of Koreans, the swimming was pretty good. Koreans are generally poor swimmers, and the water is deep at this beach. All the way down the coast, one can see where the water ceases to be shallow. I could look all the way down and there would be less than 10 people total past this point. Therefore, the swimming experience was an isolated one.
The deep end of the pool, so to speak, was the only place to get away from the crowd. I rented a tube and floated away down the coast, never bumping into anyone. When I went back to the umbrella, however, it was a completely different story. From underneath, all I could see in either direction was a endless row of umbrellas, like a giant canopy. All day long there were Koreans ducking underneath this umbrellas, selling fried chicken and beer while tiptoing around people's mats. We spent the entire day at this place, breaking for lunch at a truly excellent buffet. Jason has a real knack for finding good restaurants. While it may seem as if the crowd was overwhelming, a day at the beach is still a day at the beach. It was relaxing and fun. I especially enjoyed watching the Koreans freak out when the waves came in, later that afternoon. They would collectively scream when each dinky wave broke five feet from the shore. It was the kind of screaming you would hear on a roller coaster. Even though most of them can't swim, the Koreans really enjoy the water.

Later that evening, we found a hotel and took nice long showers. For me, there is never a better shower than one taken after a day on a beach. After washing off the sand and getting pretty, we went to the Russian district. This area is full of Russian and Phillipino restaurants and bars, and is a quite different atmosphere from what I've grown accustomed to. I had wanted to get out of Korea, and in this particular place, I felt like I had. Pictured are the delicious lamb skewers we had for dinner. The chest on the right belongs to the nice lady at the restaurant, who grilled our meat for us. After dinner, we hung around the district, hopping from one place to another. We didn't settle on any place for long, but rather skipped around all evening. Throughout the course of the evening, I expressed a new found indecision on my plans for the rest of the week. While I had originally planned to go to Japan, I was beginning to waffle. I wouldn't make a decision that evening, but I went to bed thinking about where I would go the next day.

Second vacation, first day

I'm sitting in the office at the good old hogwan right now. It's quiet, but in about an hour it will be the usual storm of rampaging children. Last week I was able to get far away from the noise and chaos, and I have to admit I didn't think about my students even once. While this vacation was a far cry from trekking down the coast in Thailand, it certainly had its moments. While there was no imminent danger this time around, there were certainly challenges mixed in with the relaxation.

The last time I took a vacation, I had about three days to plan. This time around, I had known for several weeks I would have this week off. So you think I would have planned everything to a "T", right? Of course not, I decided to go with the flow. A couple of weeks prior I had met a nice Korean fellow named Jason, and we got around to talking about vacations. I had told him that I was thinking about many different things for my week off, and was unsettled. He countered by telling me he had the first part of that week off and was planning a trip to Busan. I knew that my friend Gina had that part of the week off and wanted to go somewhere, so I decided to drag her along as well.

Our week started off early Sunday, in a little southern city called Jeonju. Jason had gone on Saturday, and Gina and I met him that Sunday. Jeonju is a very pretty, quiet, clean town, which is a welcome respite from the noisy, polluted streets of Suwon and Seoul. Jason went because he likes the food and he knew some friends. Upon arrival, we decided to visit the folk village, and then have lunch. This is the lovely clean street where the folk village lies. Notice how there's no garbage on the streets... how nice.

In the early part of the day, we walked around the village, taking in the sights and basking in the tranquility. Actually, we were wandering around aimlessly taking pictures, but the former sentence was prettier. It was a gorgeous, clear day, although a little hot. We enjoyed the scenery for a couple of hours, and decided to lunch. Here are a couple of photos of the village. The first picture of me in front of the trees is also from that spot. I should note that the way I'm postured in the picture makes it look like I've got a gut, but I don't. Not a big one, at least. Anyway, the place was very pretty.

After meandering around the city for a while, we were all very hungry. Jason wanted to show us a good restaurant that served a plethora of side dishes--He didn't disappoint. Jason loves all kinds of food and is fond of indulging in diverse culinary experiences, which put him in good standing with Gina and I right away. For 5,000 won each (a little less than five dollars), we we're treated to three different soups and over twenty side dishes, not to mention rice. It's nice to have so much variety on the table. I tried all of the sides save two or three. While I've tried all kinds of strange foods here, there are still some things that I just won't touch. The side dishes I had were good quality and very tasty.



After lunch, we took a bus to Busan. Busan is an international port city and is the second largest city in Korea. Korea is a homogenius society, with different ethnicities few and far between. Busan, however, is somewhat of an exception. It is as culturally diverse a city as one can find in Korea, maybe even moreso than Seoul. I had wanted to visit this city since I moved here, and enjoyed the opportunity. The bus ride took almost four hours, so we didn't arrive until well after dark. We had a late dinner on the beachfront, and it was very delicious. We feasted on fresh grilled eel and grilled scallops, with a little soju to wash it down. We sat outside in a tent, and the proprietors were some of the warmest, friendliest Koreans I'd been around. (This is not to say that Koreans aren't warm and friendly, but rather to accentuate the particular niceties of these workers.) I know grilled eel may sound funny to some of you, but damn if it wasn't the best seafood I'd ever eaten. I wasn't sure what to expect the next day, but I did know we'd eat well.

Vacation's all I ever wanted...

Hi everybody!!! Sorry there's no pictures this week. Fear not, however. I'm on vacation this week and will have plenty to post and talk about when I get back. We all remember what happened the last time I went on vacation. I promised my mother I wouldn't get lost in the jungle this time, though.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Jeonju (you know as much about this city as I do), and then to Busan. Busan is a beach city on the southern coast. It's the second largest city in Korea. I'll spend a couple of days there and then take a ferry to Japan. I'm really looking forward to the sushi! Expect many pictures and exciting tales (let's hope) in the following week. Since I won't be posting the next week, it will give everyone a chance to review previous entries. There will be a test when I return home.

Sorry, I'm still thinking as a teacher. I think I need to go to the beach and forget about it. Take care, all.