Saturday, February 4, 2012

Jeung-do Explorations (29 July)

We get a late-ish start this morning as we only wake up after 8:00am.  After a quick breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, M tells me that we’re going to Pa-do, an island connected to Jeung-do and one where a popular Korean drama, “Thank you” was filmed.  The road to Pa-do is very narrow and involves a long stretch across a narrow road between two parts of the ocean where the tide has gone out.  At the location where the drama was filmed, there is simply a house with a few cardboard cut-outs and posters.  We take a few photos and then head back to the main island. 

Mudhoppers

On the way back,  we stop to take more photos of the scenery and discover mudhoppers, which is what many of the Koreans around us are attempting to catch.  I’ve never seen a mudhopper before and it reminds of the scene in the movie, Matilda, where The Trunchbull comes to do a class visit of Miss Honey’s lesson and the kids put a newt into her water jug.  The mudhoppers are interesting to watch and it’s amazing how big some of them can get.  The birds circling overhead are clearly also interested in the mudhoppers and we decide to leave them to their hunting.

Chill Time

Back at the beach, we rent an umbrella with two loungers and laze about for four hours.  It’s so relaxing to sleep, listen to the waves licking the sand, the sound of kids enjoying a weekend break and enjoy the warm sun while reading.  We’ve also discovered that Jeung-do is holding a mud festival of it’s own this weekend and we head over to the stage to watch the performances. 

I’m a big fan of traditional Korean percussion groups and I love watching these performances.  There are also traditional dances, some traditional songs (of which I’m not such a big fan since they’re usually sung by old ajummas and seem to last forever) and a few…interpretive…dances.  Hungry once again, we head to the food tents where I’m horrified to see that mudhoppers are on the menu.  Although we choose the buffet option, I’m limited in what I can eat due to the large quantity of shellfish provided.  We, therefore, seek a second dinner of fried chicken at another stand before finally heading back to our minbak and just relaxing for the rest of the evening.

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