Fran111

It’s been labeled ‘mysterious’, ‘mystical’, and even a ‘miracle’. Welcome to the Jindo Sea Parting Festival 2013. Held every year, the festival is all about the Yellow Sea and the 90 minutes in which it magically recedes – exposing a winding path to neighboring Modo Island. Those expecting a ‘Moses’ style grand event will be sadly mistaken however as the sea parting is a quiet affair caused by tide-related sea level changes. There are a few things you’ll need to enjoy this festival. The first being garish thigh high rubber boots to protect your shoes and pants from the water. These are available in orange, green and maroon and what they lack in style, they make up for in necessity as you stride through the water. In some spots the tide completely recedes to expose delicate ... read more

Someone leaning over your table at a desolate, dirty old bar in Delhi to inform you that the place you are about to travel to “takes no prisoners” is always concerning. But as two South Africans and One New Zealander discovered, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The destination in question was Varanasi AKA the home of the great Ganges River AKA a place we should brace ourselves for, apparently. So in the words of Journey “we took the midnight train…” from Delhi to Varanasi. Turns out the midnight train deserves the title “takes no prisoners” far more than the city does! This train orders you aboard, sleeps you at the mercy of the three or four other passengers in your cubical, and can’t be done without a small prayer. We were in sleeper’s class. ... read more

I had been in Korea a mere month when adventure came knocking on my doorstep. It arrived in the form of two great friends – living in South Korea - who were dying to check out China. And wanted me to come along for the ride. It wasn’t a difficult decision, and despite having little money left after settling into my new home in the R.O.K, it was hardly an offer I was going to pass up. In what felt like the very next minute, we found ourselves ‘all aboard’ a cheap plane bound for Beijing, China. Now to say I was a tad skeptical about Beijing is an understatement. Of course, I was absolutely beyond excitement about the prospect of checking out the Greatness of the infamous Great Wall, but… in the past few weeks ... read more

Mine was a childhood fill of fun, flight, and dream. So you can imagine my joy last Saturday afternoon when I encountered a family playing with nothing more than a few sticks and having the time of their lives. I stumbled upon the family at TaejosanParkin Cheonan Si. It took me back to my own childhood, and held such a place in my heart I felt compelled to write about it. Cheonan Si is about 80kms out of Seoul. The Park itself is located at Mt Taejosan and is a popular place for families and lovers – young and old - to visit. You can take in the sculptues, sit down and watch the world go by, or stroll to your heart's content. This particular afternoon – after staring at a slightly bizarre, but brilliant set ... read more

Namwon is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea – about five or six hours away from my home town Chuncheon. The teachers organized a big trip away for all staff to celebrate the end of the teaching year, and Adnan (a fellow teacher/waygook) at my school and I were ready for the break. The teachers were excited as it had been a LONG year…and it was time to unwind and relax. What exactly we were up for, well that was anybody's guess, but we were ready for a Korean adventure. We filtered onto a bus specially commissioned for the trip. We took a few pictures with the ever present, typical, and popular Korean ‘V’ (peace) sign and then we were off! About a hundred Korean snacks later, we arrived in Namwon around 6pm for ... read more