Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 18

A day and a half left to go on bus tour. This morning we leave for Andong, a city about mid-way up the east coast. First stop was Hahoe Village, a historic village and home to descendants of the Ryu clan. Like other traditional hanok (old style Korean home) villages, this one is also inhabited so you see a strange mix of straw roofed or large tile-roofed traditional houses with a Chevy or Lexus or Hyundai parked alongside. This area was already popular because it was birthplace of notable scholars of the Joseon Period, but in 1999 achieved even greater fame when Queen Elizabeth II visited. The village is also known for its Mask Dance and many vendors sell traditional wooden masks. Because we were in an area with a reputation for having given Korean some ... read more

Before leaving Yeosu, we made one more stop - Odongdo Island in Yeosu. There's a lighthouse on this Island but as it was a Monday, and it seems Monday is a rest day in Korea, it was closed. Still island was very pretty with lots of great photo locations. RoJoSo though were not looking at the water and foliage ... they were on the hunt for The Penis Tree. After successfully finding the Penis Tree, it was back on the bus to continue our journey. Having covered western coast of South Korea, and now the southwest seaside areas, we were now heading east towards Busan. En route, we stopped at Jinju to visit Jinjuseong Fortress. This Fortress has ties to the Japanese invasion and served as a safeguard from Japanese attacks. Within the temple lies Uigisa ... read more

9a Departure from Gusan. First stop was Gusan Modern History Museum. Tour was entirely in Korean so Halahbujee followed the tour group and RoAnJoSo chose to do self-guided visit of the museum. From what we could gather, Gusan or Gunsan is a very fertile area where rice grows in abundance. This made it a very attractive target for Japanese pirates, and during the Japanese occupation of Korea, it served as a major rice storage and distribution area. Still touring along the coast so lunch was seafood congee (Sophie picked out the clams and mussels) and a huge seafood pancake (Sophie ate the edges which didn't have any seafood). Food was very good. Stop number two was Naesosa Temple. This Buddhist template was established in 633 CE (CE = common era = AD). There were two temples ... read more

9:30a start to the day. With weather continuing to be burning hot, we decided that one palace was enough and took the subway to the largest of the 5 palaces in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung Palace, in west part of Seoul. Many tourists here – busloads of Chinese visitors, and despite the sweltering heat, many chose to wear hambok (Korean traditional dress). In the back garden of the palace is Hyangwonjeong Pavilion and Pond. Many parties were apparently held here by King Gojong. After Gyeongbokgung, we too subway to Namsangol Hanok Village. “Hanok” means traditional Korean house. There are several such hanok villages throughout Korea. This one is very beautiful with lots of gorgeous landscapes and magnificently recreated traditional buildings. The entire area would take 3 hours to cover. We did about half. We decided to go back ... read more

Another early start. This time headed to South Gate. Despite all the years Halahbujee lived in Korea, this was his first time seeing the South Gate up close. Around the corner from South Gate is Namdaemun Market, largest traditional market in Korea. So many different things to see and buy! The hunt was on for sunglasses as Sophie has been wanting to buy a pair for a couple of months. Passed on the German made 250,000 KRW pair and settled on the Korean made 10,000 KRW from another vendor. This market is huge. We only covered a small area and it was tiring. Stopped for some Korean donuts, which are deep fried but not as sweet as the Canadian version, and some freshly made Korean peach juice. Absolutely the best peach juice we’ve ever had! Today ... read more