THE SMITH/MAYBERRY BLOG OF KOREA

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Our thoughts on Korea!
On April 19th we arrived back from Korea, uneventfully, unlike our trip over to Korea. We had a wonderful time and the highlight of the trip was seeing Michael and Danielle of course as it had been about 7 months ago that they left on their Korean adventure. A little intimidated at first, but excited to have the opportunity for such a cultural experience.

April 8th - finally left Detroit, after sitting on the plane for 2 hours as they were fixing the cargo door. Consequently, we missed our connecting flight to Busan from Tokyo. The airline arranged a flight to Seoul, a stay at a hotel, and our flight the next morning to Busan. So instead of Friday evening, we arrived early Saturday eagerly expecting to be greeted by Mike & Danielle. To our disappointment, they weren’t there. After a bout of confusion & with the help of very nice Korean, we phoned Mike to find out they were stuck in traffic but arriving soon. After a long journey, we looked forward to relaxing in the taxis on the way to the hotel. Relaxing would have to wait. The moment the taxis took off, we experienced their “driving” first hand. I’m not sure if it is safer to be in the taxi or a pedestrian. They do not slow down for anything, and honking their horn to express annoyance is a frequent practice.
Day 1 - Our hotel was located near Haeundae Beach - you could look out your window and see the beach. The beach area is very clean & has beautiful walking paths. After settling in, we ventured out to the Cherry Blossom festival. We hopped on a bus, and along the way, we learned another feature of Korean transportation: congestion. Of people. Michael finally suggested we get off and walk the remaining short distance, as it was getting increasingly uncomfortable squished into a hot + crowded vehicle.
The scene of cherry blossom trees was a beautiful and popular attraction.

Day 2 - Danielle arranged a taxi van that would take us to temple, wait during our tour, and drive us back which was convenient. As we took off on our tour, within moments the cab driver was on our tail. He either wanted the tour himself, or wasn’t going to chance us taking too long. This turned out to be a good thing… he became our personal assistant. Not missing a beat, he took Mike’s camera and proceeded to take several photos of the group, and instructed Korean people to get out of the way! It was hilarious to see him in action, and he even took Larry’s backpack and carried it around for him. The area was very beautiful, and leaving the temple, we took a scenic drive around Haeundae Dalmajigil which presented another landscape of beautiful cherry blossoms. Here we had our first taste of Korean cuisine. I couldn’t even tell you what we had, but I do know we didn’t care for the kimchi. One of the other interesting foods were rice & vegetable wrapped in seaweed (I don’t remember what it was called), which was edible once you got past the scent.

Day 3 & 4 - M & D had to be in school, but Mike ensured that we were left with all the necessary instructions for the day’s “itinerary”. Our Busan tour was a lot of walking, but the sights made it worthwhile. We visited the Jagalchi fish market and after we saw enough fish for the day, we moved onto Busan’s largest department store. This venue also has an ice rink, golf area, spa, and (thankfully) a Burger King (which met with Christopher’s approval). We carried onto the Pusan University shopping district to meet up with M & D. While we were waiting, Christopher & Larry received celebrity treatment from 3 or 4 female college students who wanted to interview these tall Canadian men on their thoughts of Korea. It was quite amusing to watch, and a moment they soaked in!
We ended the day with a visit to Dr. Fish. Having little fish nibble on our feet was a unique experience, but there was one of us that didn’t share the appreciation, so she kept her feet more or less above the water (achem, Christine).

Day 5 - We headed to Yangsan to meet Mike @ school shortly before noon, and were met with warm greetings by very curious kids who had many questions to ask when given the opportunity. It was really nice to see Michael and his co-teacher teaching the English language together. The staff were very welcoming, and we were invited to have lunch with them in the cafeteria. Needless to say we had all eyes on us from staff to kids, and the kids were very excited to practice their English saying hello and getting our autographs. We have never felt so important! Before leaving we shared a coffee visit with the principal, Michael, and his co-teacher. Despite the very nice gesture, it was a tad awkward as the principal did not speak any English and everything had to be translated.
That evening, we met some of M & D’s friends and had a Korean barbeque which was enjoyed! It was nice to meet their friends, put faces to names, and Chris even joined in on their Taek won doe class.
Day 6 & 7 - Mike rented a car so we drove to Gyeong ju and Andong. He seemed quite comfortable driving in the area and also didn’t hesitate to use his horn. It was kind of unsettling driving down the mountain and passing several buses going up to the temple as the roadway did not seem to be very wide. Our day was accompanied by several field trips by schools so it was an endless conversation of hello and Hi as we passed all these students who were anxious to say talk to us foreigners. We were impressed how well the students behaved in the short time we saw them. We did a lot of walking and walked on the longest wooden bridge, saw more temples, pagodas, traditional folk museum and village. The gardens will be beautiful when they are in full bloom. We also saw the royal tombs.
Day 8 & 9 - We headed to Seoul, which went smoothly until we got to the outskirts. An atmosphere of frustration developed as Michael was getting increasingly frustrated with the crazy traffic, and confusing maps/signs. But, we finally got to our location, and met Danielle us in downtown Seoul.
The next day, the girls headed off to see the palace, and boys went to the Korean War museum. Danielle was lucky enough to have the camera this time. We caught a play of traditional wedding ceremony, explored the palace, and did some shopping in the side street markets. A dangerous shopping trip as the cars and scooters venturing down these narrow streets expect you to move out of their way.
That night we enjoyed another Korean bbq and went to a Noraebong, similar to Karaoke. Lots of laughs!!

Day 10 - We left Yangsan and headed to the airport. Michael saw us off, making sure the driver knew where to take us. It was a great time and I felt a little sad leaving him. Both M & D were great hosts & tour guides. They’ve become very comfortable living the Korean life! We appreciate everything they did for us, and I’m sure they were relieved a little to not be our daily guides. Thanks again for a fabulous time. I’m sure over a period of time we would get accustomed to the food, but it was comforting to have some North American chains to fall back on!

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