Mudfest (16 July)

After such a long and draining night, I oversleep making me late to meet Catfish at the train station.  Thankfully, I do meet her in time for the train to Daecheon Beach and she’s even bought me breakfast from Lotteria.  M meets us on the train when it stops at her station and we chatter away for the 40 minutes train ride to Daecheon where we meet Astro.  From there, we take a taxi to the mudflats for the marine training part of the trip.

While the Mudfest itself is largely free to attend, the marine training is organised for us as part of the AK package and, quite frankly, it’s the highlight of the trip.  We’re among the first to arrive at the mudflats and we’re dressed and ready for action by the time the AK buses arrive.  The organisers of the marine training is the same company that did the sea rafting and paintball part of a trip at the end of May.  Catfish and I immediately know that this is going to be a great morning!

Getting Down and Dirty

After a brief introduction and once everyone is dressed, we’re given the all clear to enter the mudflats.  While most of the AK group are treading hesitantly through the mud, Catfish and I waste no time in attempting to wrestle each other down and into the mud.  We’re among the first to get muddy and are completely coated in mud by the time we reach the first of our games: Mud soccer.  We’re playing against Koreans – mostly men and mostly guys who have completed their military training and are therefore very fit.  The game, however, is good fun and, surprisingly, the foreigners win.  Next is the chicken fights.

Chicken fights involves holding the ankle of one foot crossed in front of the other knee.  You then hop on one foot and attempt to knock over opponents by bumping into them.  I already know that I’m terrible at this game so I sit it out and instead Catfish, M, Astro, three kiwis and I form a human pyramid in the mud.  Catfish and I also attempt to wrestle ByungMin into the mud as he has barely got dirty.  After many attempts, we finally manage to wrestle him down and insist on a photo of it as proof. 

Doing It Like A Marine!

Our next game is actually marine exercises.  The Korean men all shine in this round as they’ve actually completed these exercises as part of their real military training.  The foreigners, on the other hand, are mostly useless and find the exercises physically demanding.  We soon decide that we’ve had enough and skip the final game of wrestling in order to beat the crowds to the showers to rinse off.  Also, the rain is starting to fall in earnest.  

By the time we’re clean and on our way to our hotels, it’s raining more than we’d hoped.  At the hotel, we drop off our bags and head to the beach and the mudfest area.  The actual mudfest is something of a disappointment and it is basically an opportunity for foreigners to get drunk and behave badly.  In all fairness, there are also a lot of Koreans who are just as drunk and behaving just as badly. 

We paint ourselves in more mud and buy tickets to go on the inflatables inside the demarcated area.  We wait in a line for nearly an hour before finally giving up.  During our wait, however, we witness many disgusting displays of arrogance and inconsiderate behaviour.  The one that stands out the most is a group of foreigners who had a bucket of very watery mud thrown at them by one of their friends.  The mud also hit a Korean woman who was clearly a professional photographer at the event.  Her camera was covered in mud and, when this was pointed out to this particular group of foreigners, they simply laughed it off and gave her a thumbs up. 

Fireworks? What Fireworks?

After playing around the water, we find ourselves desperately wanting a refreshing shower.  After our showers, we walk the strand flat in search of somewhere to eat.  We settle for delicious galbitang and later find enormous take away Junebugs before heading to the stage area.  Deciding that the stage area is too crowded, we head back down to the beach where we build a “2011” with sparklers and unsuccessfully attempt to get them all lit simultaneously.

Promised a fireworks display on the beach, we eventually come to the conclusion that the few rockets we’ve seen are the display and we decide to call it a night.  We no sooner get back to our hotel room when we hear major fireworks exploding.  M, Astro and Catfish decide to return to the beach while I call it a night.  Apparently, I miss some amazing fireworks and great fried chicken….

Consequences (6 June)

We awake just in time to get ready for the ferry at 9:30am the next morning.  Following our drinking of the previous night, we decide to take motion-sickness medicine for the ferry ride back to the mainland and we’re grateful that we do after the events of the previous night.

Back on the mainland, we head to Suncheon’s Traditional Folk Village where we have about 90 minutes to look around.  Although the village is impressive and interesting, I feel awful and impatient to get home.  Catfish thinks it’s rather funny that I’m so grouchy after last night’s drinking session.  We’re soon delivered to the Suncheon Bus Terminal and fortunately, we’re just in time for the next bus to Jeonju where we head to T.G.I. Friday’s for a proper dinner at 19:30 before getting on our final bus back to Gunsan.

Ridge Walking and “My Seokjin” (5 June)

Every time we go on an AK trip, we have every intention of waking up early to see the sunrise.  To date, we have yet to get up in time for sunrise and this trip does not change that.  Instead, we wake up in time for breakfast and then rent bikes to go for a 2 hour bike ride around the islands.  We also chat for a while on the concrete stairs at the beach since the tide is in, and we can’t help but reflect on the different tide patterns that Korean beaches seem to have. 

It's an Easy Climb?

All too soon, it’s time to return the bikes and head back to our hotel for a delicious lunch of kimchi jigae.  After lunch, it’s time to hike.  Seokjin assures us that it’s more ridge walking than hiking and that it’ll be easy.  Sold on the fact that I can probably keep up, I soon discover the first kilometre involves an extremely steep incline to get to the actual ridge.  Thinking that I may pass out before I reach the ridge, Catfish and ByungMin point out that I’m not actually the last person and somehow I find myself atop of the ridge.  The ridge walking itself is actually very pleasant but the weather is rather humid this afternoon and the brief respites of shade are insufficient.  I’m starting to wish that I’d chosen to stay on the beach with the roaches but the view from the top is worthwhile as we make our way towards one of the oldest lighthouses in Korea. 

My Seokjin

After a humid afternoon on the ridge, we’re more than ready to cool off in the cold waters before heading back to our room for a refreshing shower.  We’re still hungry after a dinner of fish and side dishes and we decide that we will find the chicken restaurant that everyone has mentioned.  We spend another evening relaxing in front of the same convenience store of the night before, eating fried chicken and just generally chatting, before deciding to call it a night just before midnight.  We’ve no sooner changed and got into bed when ByungMin phones Catfish to tell her, “My Seokjin wants you to come drink.”  I wish her fun as I assume that only she has been invited down.  She barely makes it downstairs before I hear Seokjin say something to her and I hear her calling me down.  A few seconds later, she’s back in the room telling me that she’s been told to fetch me to drink and, as I dress, I can’t help but realise that this is going to be a long night of drinking with the boys and I’m right:  We don’t get back to bed until 2:00am when we simply pass out much to our roommates’ disgust.

Geomundo (4 June)

After a long and fairly sleepless bus ride, we arrive at the harbour at 6:00am and scrounge around for somewhere to buy breakfast.  With limited options, we settle on the breakfast of champions at the GS25: a packet of cookies and coffee.  When the time comes to board the ferry at 8:00am, we scramble for and manage to secure seats on the upper deck where we promptly fall asleep.

100 Islands

We arrive on Geomundo at 9:45am, which is earlier than anticipated.  We leave our bags at our hotel and Seokjin guides us on a walk to the British Memorial Cemetery where, for some reason, there are several British soldiers buried.  It’s a beautiful location on a hill overlooking the bay, and a good chance for us to orientate ourselves.  At 11:00am, we take a ferry to see the famous Baek (100) Islands.  Apparently this is considered one of the most beautiful areas in Korea and one that many Koreans aspire to see in their lives.  Catfish’s description is that it’s a pile of rocks in the middle of the sea and once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  The ferry ride is extremely windy but we’re also offered rice cake by a couple of friend Koreans sitting near us.

A Dip For the Brave...Or the Stupid

Back on the island, we have a quick lunch and change into our swim suits to head down to the beach.   This is not the type of beach we had in mind though!  It’s small, the sand is covered in seawood and other brick-a-brack from the ocean including disgusting sea roaches that creep up on us and the cold water is extremely salty.  Determined to make the most of the situation, Catfish, ByungMin and I head out into the water where we horse around for nearly an hour.  Seokjin seems pleased so see that some people are willing to brave the waters. 

Happy Birthday, Catfish!

After an eventful dinner back at our hotel and a refreshing shower, we relax outside of the local convenience store overlooking the harbour where Catfish and I drink lousy beer with our two roommates.  Suddenly, Seokjin, the bus driver and ByungMin arrive with a chocopie birthday ‘cake’ for Catfish – surrounding a huge white candle. 

With the birthday celebrations over, the four of us decide that we would like to go to the noryaebang across the road.  Unfortunately, all of the rooms are full.  However, while enquiring about the availability of a room, some ajeoshi’s invite us to join them in their large room.  As we enter, two of them promptly leave and return a few minutes later with several ice creams, which they insist we eat.  Unfortunately, the next 30 minutes are not as much fun as we’d hoped as the ajeoshi’s are a little too touchy-feely for our liking and have clearly had too much to drink.  We eventually manage to escape and Catfish and I decide that we’re probably better off just going straight to bed.

Happy Birthday, Catfish (3 June)

Today is Catfish’s birthday and we’ve signed up for another great AK trip for the long weekend in order to celebrate her 24^th birthday.  After a regular school day, I head to the Gunsan Medical Centre for an acupuncture appointment.  I’m excited yet nervous as I’ve found a great English phrase book for Cute Doctor.  Last week he showed me his English language book, which I think is too easy for him and having recently been in an ELT Bookstore this week, I have found a great book that I think will be very useful for him.  When I give him the book, he seems very surprised and at a loss for words.  I leave the GMC wondering if, perhaps, I’ve overstepped a line and doubting myself as to whether or not I made the right decision.  I don’t dwell on it too much though as I head to my apartment to pack a bag quickly and meet Catfish at the Express Bus Terminal.

We take an 20:30 bus to Seoul and arrive at 23:00.  We have approximately an hour before the AK bus arrives and so, famished, we decide to have bagels for dinner before heading to the meeting place.  We’re delighted to see the AK staff again whom we greet like long-lost friends.  We leave Seoul’s EBT at around midnight on an overnight bus to Nokyeophang (I think) harbour on the south coast where we’ll catch an 8:00am ferry to Geomun Island.  Although it sounds ridiculous for us to have up to Seoul when the harbour is probably only about 3 hours away from Gunsan, it really is easier since figuring out the bus transfers so late on a Friday night and then finding accommodation near the harbour is just to confusing.

Sea Rafting and Paintball Fun (29 May)

Despite our intentions of the previous night, we don’t get up for sunrise the next morning.  We do, however, get up in time for breakfast and a walk on the beach before heading out for sea rafting. 

The sea rafting is one of the things I’m most anticipating on this trip as I love water sports.  I was an avid rower and canoeist at school and, having experienced white water rafting in July 2010 while working at a summer camp in the US, I’m eager to compare it to sea rafting now.  Unfortunately, Korea’s idea of sea rafting means 15 people per boat, which is simply too many.  The company that offers the sea rafting though is fantastic and we have a good time warming up before heading out to the water.   I’m delighted to hear the conversations of my teammates who are all talking about having been avid rowers themselves; I’m hoping that this means we’ll all be keen for a bit of water fun.  I’m disappointed, however, when the majority of girls on my raft complain about getting wet.  Who signs up for a sea rafting trip and then complains about getting  wet?

Crazily, ByungMin, whose military service was completed in the marines, is swimming behind the boats rather than rafting.  When we head back to shore, we’re told that we can play around in the water for a bit before we commence with more games.  Again, the girls complain about not wanting to get wet when we have dragon races and, as is customary on AK trips, Catfish and I are in the front egging people on to participate.  Despite losing the dragon race, and failing hopelessly in the chicken fights, we have a lot of fun but are famished.  After a quick lunch, we change and our group splits: we head to paintball while the rest of the group heads back to the beach for a chilled afternoon. 

You Shot Me!

This is the first time I’m playing paintball and although I’m fairly confident that I’m not a bad shot, I’m a little nervous.  The uniforms that we’re given to wear during the games are actual Korean military uniforms and they’re hot – particularly since the Kiwis at work advised me to wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt for paintball!  I feel like I’m suffocating when I put the helmet down and I can feel the sweat trickling all over my body; we’re all feeling uncomfortable but we’re ready to play after a short demonstration of how to shoot the paintball guns and safety rules.  We’re also a little unnerved when we learn that some of our group members are actually military guys and have a distinct advantage in combat.

With less than a minute to the end of the first game, I’m shot in the head by one of my own team members.  Disappointed to be killed so late in the game, I’m eager for a second chance in the next game.  Unfortunately, while lying under a bush where I think I’m well hidden, I feel a fatal shot in the back of my neck.  I later learn that the shot was administered by one of the GIs who tells me that he actually stepped back several feet before shooting me so that he didn’t hurt me.  The final game is Last Man Standing.  I find a hiding spot early on and can hear two guys near me discussing their strategy.  When I see someone stand, I open fire and, on hearing the screams, I realise that I and the two guys near me have shot Catfish who is shouting that she’s dead.  The two guys then turn on me and, despite shouting that I’m dead, continue to fire off several paintballs in my direction – one of which hits me squarely on the elbow.  Catfish is walking past us on her way off the field and helps to tell the two guys to stop shooting so that I can leave.   We take a few action photos while waiting for the game to end and then get changed.

Thankful to be out of the hot uniforms, we head back down to the bus to collect our bags before making our way to the Daecheon bus terminal to go back to Gunsan while the AK bus heads back to Seoul.  On the way home, I can’t help but think of Cute Doc’s response when he sees the nice welt and bruise on the elbow that he had just been working on for previous pain.

Pumba Festival (28 May)

Pumbas are traditional Korean beggars.  Poor people would go from house to house and perform various tricks or perform in some way while begging.  Korea now has a Pumba Festival where you can dress up in costumes and participate in various activities.  It’s a big festival and there is a very popular photography competition attached to this festival.  As you can imagine, foreigners dressed as pumbas make for very interesting photographs and makes us very popular with the photographers.

As usual, AK trips leave from Seoul.  Catfish and I are uncertain as to how to get to the festival from Gunsan and so, as is increasingly the case, we decide it’s easier to travel to Seoul on Friday night after school.  We spend the night in the Central Spa jimjilbang at the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, something we haven’t done since early December, because it’s cheap accommodation and convenient since one of the pick-up points for AK trips is the EBT. 

This is our first AK trip since the Booze Cruise in March, and we’re curious as to who will be staffing this particular trip.  We’re delighted to see ByungMin once again and Seokjin’s brother-in-law, YoungMin, who we met on the Booze Cruise, is also staffing this trip.  We’re soon heading to Eumseong in Chuncheongnam Province where the festival is taking place. 

Becoming Pumbas

Once at festival site, we quickly get costumes and head to the face painting section where we are transformed into pumbas.  We’ve barely finished having our faces painted and we’re surrounded by photographers eager to take our photos.  With her blonde hair and azure blue eyes, Catfish is a magnet for photographers who love her even more because she plays up to the cameras, obliging the photographers by posing and being playful.  We have an hour or so to walk around and enjoy the festival before lunch. 

The entire time, we’re pursued by photographers and we start to understand celebrities sometimes turn violent with the paparazzi: We quickly tire of being constantly followed and treated like performing monkeys and even non-professional photographers start pestering us for photos with us on their mobile phones.  We decide that the best course of action is to ignore the cameras and just enjoy ourselves come-what-may. 

Not the Smartest Choices...

We enjoy watching the professional pumbas and other performers.  We’re approached by a clown on stilts who makes a balloon flower in a heart and is accompanied by two still mimes painted in gold.  The mimes are particularly impressive and we reverse the roles by taking many photos of them too before heading to the restaurant area for a bibimbap lunch. 

After lunch, we decide to explore the other side of the festival which is across a small lake.  We see traditional Korean dances performed with incredible skill, strength and precision before discovering a very small fun-ride that kind of resembles a caged hamster wheel.  It turns round and round like a never-ending rollercoaster loop and Catfish and I decide that this looks like fun.  The Koreans around us are only to happy to let us go for a ride that is clearly built for very small people as we only just manage to secure the safety bar that is crushing our thighs. 

Catfish and I take up an entire row of seats and most of the kids seem to decide that they’d rather watch us from the outside than be in the cage with us.  There are two little girls in the seat behind us and one in the seat in front of us.  One of the little girls behind us keeps shouting for the operator to make the wheel turn faster as we are repeatedly thrown forward on what feels like an out of control ferris wheel ride.  I’m starting to realise that such a ride so soon after lunch is not one of my smarter decisions for the day but all I can do is close my eyes, clench the seatbelt straps across my chest and hope that I don’t throw up before the end of the ride.  Mercifully, my lunch stays down although I certainly feel a bit greener around the gills as I exit the ride.  As seems to be an ongoing trait with Catfish and I, however, we seem to have inspired a few other foreigners to also try out the ride although we don’t hang around to see the result.

All too soon, we’re heading back to the main festival area where we watch a taffy breaking competition.  Taffy is a hard type of nougat-like sweet that is popular in Korea.  We stand chatting to ByungMin and we soon find ourselves being roped into an all-waegook taffy breaking competition.  Each person is given a stick of taffy to break in half.  Inside of the taffy are air holes, which are obviously revealed when the taffy is broken.  The winner of the competition is the person with the biggest hole in their taffy.  Catfish and I are quickly eliminated and sent away with our taffy to eat. 

Undoing the Pumba

Sadly, the festival experience is coming to an end and we’re soon returning our costumes and facing the challenge of trying to remove our face paint and make-up.  Catfish opts for the “water-and-scrub” approach resulting in a comical effect.  Seeing the outcome of Catfish’s attempts, I decide to leave the make-up on and attempt to remove it on the bus with wet wipes and a mirror which, fortunately, is more successful.

The bus ride to Boryeong, specifically Daecheon Beach where our hotel is, is a long one – particularly since the mix of foreigners on this particular trip includes a significant number of very loud, very obnoxious and very inappropriate girls who discuss intimate topics at the top of their voices from their location in the centre of the bus.  We try to tune out the conversation by cranking up the volume on our ipods and, when that doesn’t work, we attempt to sleep.  By the time we finally get to the hotel, we’re slightly fed-up and just want to put our things in our room so that we can head down to the beach.  We’re a little miffed that YoungMin doesn’t step up and insist that a room that already has guys in it also take the guy who ends up in our room but so be it.  We can’t help making the comparison that Seokjin, the owner of AK, would never let such an arrangement happen – something that ByungMin knows but, being younger than YoungMin, cannot do anything about.

Beach Shenanigans

With our bags stored in our room, we immediately head to the beach that is a mere 100m away from our hotel.  We’re delighted by the view and relish the thought that the hot summer that is fast approaching also means that we can spend time on a great beach that is only an hour’s train ride from Gunsan.  We spend a few hours goofing around on the beach, playing in the sand, taking silly photos and watching the sunset before heading to a nearby Western-style restaurant (since most of the surrounding restaurants are seafood restaurants and I don’t know how to order dishes without shellfish), Orange, where we have pizza and the best chocolate-kalhua milkshakes ever!    Unfortunately, this is where many of the other foreigners in our group also go for dinner and, once again, we find ourselves shrinking in our seats in our desire not to be associated with their overbearing and obnoxious behaviour.

I'm Just an English Teacher

I must clarify:  I’m not anti-America!  I spent two fantastic summers working at a summer camp in the US, have several American friends, enjoyed travelling the in the US and Catfish, my best friend in Korea, is American.  I am, however, as is she, averse to obnoxious, loud, overbearing and inconsiderate behaviour regardless of where people come from.  Unfortunately, the US military in Korea tend to have a reputation for bad behaviour and we’re quick to distance ourselves from the US military by telling people that we’re English teachers.  Equally unfortunate is that often times large groups of North Americans tend to become a bit too loud and too overbearing in inappropriate places.  This is not to say that other nationalities are not also guilty of such behaviour though.  There have been many occasions where I have been equally embarrassed to be associated with other South Africans, Brits and Kiwis. 

Unfortunately, the two groups in Orange who are currently reinforcing these negative stereotypes are predominantly North American and some of them are with the military – both with the AK group and separate from our group.  This is something that has not escaped the observations of the restaurant staff, one of whom asks us if we know the other two groups when we pay our cheque.  Again, we quickly distance ourselves by stating that we (Catfish and I) are English teachers and we claim not to know the other two groups – one of which we genuinely do not know, the other being the annoying group on the bus ride.  We realise that there is a distinct cultural difference with certain behaviour but, sometimes, it would be great if foreigners would try to remember that many of us are judged based on the actions of one or two people.

More Beach Shenanigans

After dinner, it’s back to the beach to play with sparklers – something we can’t do in our home countries but that is freely done in Korea.  You can set off any fireworks, including rockets, on the beach which many people are currently doing.  When the sparklers are finished, we decide to go for a walk in the water as we reflect on a few experiences in Korea and what we would like to do in the months to come.  When ByungMin texts Catfish to come for a drink, he meets us at our hotel and escorts us to the restaurant where he, YoungMin and a couple of people from our group are sitting and drinking.  We have a drink with them and excuse ourselves from a late night of drinking when the party moves to outside of the GS25 convenience store.  Proving, once again, that we’re dorks at heart, we play a few card games in our room before calling it a night so that we can be up in time for sunrise on the beach.

Hangang Booze Cruise (12 March)

Despite a severe earthquake having hit Japan yesterday, Catfish and I head to Seoul for a Booze Cruise on the Han River.   We head to Seoul early on Saturday morning where we’re planning to take a look around Yongsan Electronics Market, which we’ve heard so much about.  The market is smaller than we anticipated although there are definitely some fantastic deals if you’re in the market for a new laptop, camera or phone.  We’re also surprised to see walkmans (yes, the tape playing kind) and Discmans at the market.  Korea is probably one of the only countries in the world still to be actively producing cassettes.  On a happy note, however, I finally, after five months of searching Korea, find a power cable for my laptop.

With growling stomachs, we head to the foodcourt in the basement for some lunch.  Our options are Korean food, which neither of us are really enthusiastic about today, or the Hooters next door.  Never in my life did I think that I would ever set foot inside of a Hooters yet here I am, at the age of 29, voluntarily entering one for a hamburger.  As we step inside, the conversations of the all-male clientele come to a sudden halt and we awkwardly make our way inside.  The waitresses, however, seem almost relieved to be serving female customers for a moment.  The other patrons create a rather sleazy and unappealing atmosphere and it’s pretty much exactly what I imagined Hooters to be – minus the topless waitresses. 

White Day Fun

With an uber-awkward lunch out of the way, we head to IPark mall’s square for coffee and to wait out the next three hours before we can head to Yeouido for the cruise.  There’s a variety of kid’s games, including hula hoops, available and we participate in these while we wait.  When Catfish discovers that a White Day competition is about to start on the stage, she asks if we can enter as a couple.  The organisers say yes and rush over the announcer who seems flustered at the prospect of including two waegookens in the proceedings.  The Korean participants find it amusing but are quick to try and include us in the fun.  They manage to communicate that we will have to wait for the second round but that we should watch the first round to get an idea of what we will have to do in the competition.  So, seated in the front row, we watch…with sinking hearts.

By now, we should be fully aware that everything that Koreans attempt is approached with a 100% attitude.  I don’t think the word, “fail” is in the average Korean’s vocabulary.  Games are no different. 

First, each couple is given a peppero stick (chocolate covered biscuit) that the woman holds between her teeth.  The man has to bite the peppero stick as short as possible – without kissing his partner because we all know that kissing in public is sinful in Korea.  This proves to be highly entertaining to watch although Catfish is clearly losing enthusiasm for her desire to enter us.  The next game involves a serious workout.

The men are told to pick up their partners.  They may hold them any way they choose provided the partner’s feet are not touching the ground.  Considering most of their partners are fashionably dressed women – in typically short skirts – there is an awkward shuffle to try and preserve their modesty despite these wardrobe interferences.  So prepared are the Korean organisers that they’ve even provided blankets for the women to wrap around their waists to cover what their skirts fail to hide.  The fireman’s carry is my favourite of the choice positions.

The men now have to do squats.  The youngest couple is the first to be eliminated and a joke is made about him being a baby because he has yet to do military service. It’s evident that the rest of the men have done military service in the last five years or so because their levels of fitness are incredible.  They are literally perspiring by the time the MC has finished putting them through their paces. 

After the squats, they have to face each other, throw a ball in the air, spin round and catch it between the pair before it hits the ground.  It sounds easy enough but, judging by the number of contestants who struggled with this, it’s harder than it appears.  The final game is where the couples stand on a rapidly diminishing sheet of newspaper.  As the paper gets smaller, so the difficulty in maintaining one’s balance increases. 

As entertaining as the games are to watch, we realise that we’re out of time and won’t be able to participate in the second round since we have to leave for the cruise.  I wish that I could say that the cruise was as much fun as watching the White Day Competition at IPark Mall but it’s not: It’s a group of loud and drunk foreigners assembled for the sole purpose of drinking and getting even more drunk while the boat travels up and down the Han River for three hours.  After the cruise, we all head back to KiwiKat’s apartment where we’re spending the night before meeting YeonJeong for lunch the next day and a bit of shopping

Daedunsan (5 March)

I meet Catfish at the Intercity Bus Terminal at 7:55am.  There are few buses to Daejeon and the first is at 8:05am.  It’s been a chaotic start to the morning, what with having overslept, and we’re hoping we’ll make to Daejeon in time to meet the AK bus at 10:20am.  We don’t know where in Daejeon we’re going, but all we need to worry about at this stage is getting to Daejeon – Seokjin will give the taxi driver directions once we get to Daejeon.

After a few silly photos on the bus, Catfish pulls down her beanie to cover her entire face and we’re both soon catching a little shut-eye in preparation for our day’s hike.  Before we know it, the bus arrives in Daejeon and we’re on the phone to Seokjin for directions.  Catfish dives into a vacant taxi and thrusts my phone at the driver who looks at in confusion while she mimes for him to talk on the phone.   We’re soon delivered to a wedding hall which is apparently the meeting place for the AK group.  With plenty of time to spare, we pick a direction and start foraging for somewhere to buy breakfast.  Unfortunately, our options seem to be limited to the small convenience store at a gas station and we’re soon making our way back to the meeting spot where we’re joined by two other girls who are also on the trip. 

No Spikes, No Hike

At 10:40am, the AK bus arrives and we greet Seokjin enthusiastically.  We’re also happy to see that Patricia and ByungMin are staffing this trip and we soon fall into an easy conversation with Patricia whom we haven’t seen since the DMZ trip.  Less than an hour later, we arrive at the rest stop where we take a group photo and Seokjin shows us the path that we’ll be following along the ridge of Daedun Mountain.  He also tells us that there’s still snow on the mountain so we’ll need to buy spikes before we take the cable car part of the way up the mountain. 

Spikes in hand, we set off for the cable car that will take us most of the way uphill.  The view from the top is amazing and the Konglish signs provide much amusement for the crowd of native speakers.  I love the signposts that treat the mountain like a crossroads, the fact that hiking in Korea seems to always involve climbing up steps for the first part and the road signs that tell us not to ‘trifle” on the bridge and that certain paths are one way: Down. 

The first lot of stairs are fine although Catfish has a few issues with vertigo thanks to the stairs being made of an iron frame and mesh wire – she’s definitely not comfortable with being able to see the sharp drop beneath her although I can’t help but drink in the beauty of the wonders around me.  At one point, Catfish drops a glove and, naturally, it falls underneath the stairs and out of reach.  With an exclamation of disappointment that Seokjin, our fearless AK leader, hears, ByungMin (an AK staff member) is quickly dispatched to climb over the railing and under the stairs to retrieve the glove: Catfish’s hero.

We then proceed to the next part of the assault course: Natural rock stairs.  These are not just any stairs.  Oh no!  These stairs represent my own personal exercise hell.  At one point, I seriously consider giving up and heading back down the mountain with the other girls who’ve already gone that route – I’m just not fit enough to make it up the natural stair-master that only the devil could have created.  Somehow, with lots of encouraging words from Patricia (another AK staff member) and Catfish, I puff, pant and push myself to the top of the stairs.  For a brief moment, I revel in the knowledge that I’ve made it to the top – until Seokjin points out the final stretch to the actual peak of the mountain. 

Competing for the First Fall Award

This is where we have to put on our spikes.  The snow on the ground is patchy but since we’re ‘inexperienced’ hikers, unlike our fearless leader, we need the spikes – no spikes, no hike.  With my first step up the final stretch, I’m grateful for the spikes on my shoes.  I manage to pull myself up the rope, up the final set of stairs and halfway up the rope again when I hit not only a snowy patch but a rocky one too which makes the spikes useless – they don’t grip the rock.  It’s inevitable, I suppose, that one moment I’m looking up at Catfish just ahead of me on the peak, thinking that I’m almost there and the next, I’m sliding face first down the side of the peak.  I sense my arms flailing as my hands reach out for anything with grip and I catch a glimpse of Patricia’s frightened expression and her outstretched hand that can’t reach me.  It takes me a moment to realise that my hand has found a rope – just as my eyes see that my feet are currently hanging over the edge of a rather steep drop down the side of the mountain.  No one can beat me on this trip: I’ve already claimed the prize for First to Fall and Most Dramatic Fall.

After a 15 minute rest to take in the view from the top and get a few classic photos, we’re soon slipping and sliding our way back down to begin our ridge walking.  Here, we seem to split into two smaller groups: Our fearless leader, Seokjin, leads the way (while ByungMin runs between him and Patricia) and Patricia brings up the rear.   We hang out at the back – not because we can’t keep up but because we enjoy the company.

Along the way, we encounter various slippery and narrow paths – usually next to the steepest drops.  At one such intersection, five cute Korean guys, in full Korean hiking gear, step aside to let the foreign girls pass.  They gallantly hold out their arms for us to hold onto as we attempt to navigate the icy and treacherous path.   Pride interferes once more and I attempt to sidestep them without taking the offered arm.  My sidestep turns into a full on slide down the path ahead but, mercifully, not down the mountain itself.  I decide to exercise even more caution in future and take the proffered arms. 

Nice People

The rest of the ridge walking passes rather uneventfully and we’re soon beginning our descent.  Since the descent is rocky, Catfish and I take our time looking for steady rocks while ByungMin, who served in the marines for his military service, flies down the mountain and over the rocks like some Korean mountain goat.  A random Korean man stops and asks me if I have gloves for hiking.  When I shake my head, he quickly removes the gloves from his hands and offers them to me.  Back home, this would simply not happen and it’s just one of many instances of utter kindness from Koreans that constantly amazes and impresses me.  It’s over an hour, and he’s somewhere well ahead of me, before I finally see him again to return the gloves. 

Back on flat ground, the AK bus delivers us to the pick up site in Daejeon and we walk to the bus terminal where a bus to Gunsan is preparing to leave.  We’re delighted that we’ll make it back to Gunsan by 19:00 and in time for NZ2 and his fiance’s engagement party at Promessa. 

All in a Monk’s Day (20 February)

Determined to have a full temple experience, I force myself to get up at 3:00am to prepare for the pre-dawn ceremony which is the first of the day’s prayers at the temple.  The 3:30am call is optional and only half of the girls decide to get up for this experience while the rest opt for an extra hour’s sleep.  We quickly dress and put away our beds before meeting ByungWoo and the temple staff outside to be shepherded to the main temple where we’ll get to participate in the ceremony.  It’s not as cold as we’d expected at this hour.  Nevertheless, there’s a definite hustle to get seats directly next to the heaters in the main temple.  Once again, I can’t help wondering what made the monks decide to give in to modern items like heaters for the cold winter months considering the simplicity of the rest of their lives….

Disappointingly, this ceremony seems to be over in less than 20 minutes and we’re soon bowing our way out of the main temple and heading back to our sleeping quarters where the remaining AK members are woken to join the rest of the morning’s activities.  Apparently the room where we slept is actually a meditation room and so it is needed for part of the morning's activities which means that the early wake up call is no longer entirely optional much to the apparent disgust of several foreigners who are struggling to wake up – my guess is that it’s the same group of girls who were considerate enough to only go to sleep at around 2:00am this morning thanks to their constant chatter and laughing for nearly four hours last night.

And Now for 108 Bows

As irritable foreigners wipe sleep from their eyes, our monk greets us with some unexpected news which ByungWoo translates since the temple’s translator is not yet present: It’s time for us to do 108 bows.  The regret in ByungWoo’s voice is echoed in the moans heard around the room as I take in the general Ah crap! expressions around me.  I’d been told about the 108 bows that we’d have to do when making our Buddhist prayer beads but nobody had mentioned the 108 full bows that are part of the morning prayers.  In addition, no one seems to have considered that such rigorous exercise at an hour when we’re barely awake is tantamount to torture for many a foreigner – it’s the equivalent of flogging us or locking us in the stocks.  Nonetheless, our monk cracks the bamboo stick and the bows begin.

Each crack of the bamboo stick signals the start of a full bow.  Many of you are probably thinking that our reluctance to perform 108 full bows is a bit churlish since your idea of a bow is probably bending from the waist which, after four months, I’m used to now doing on a daily basis.  Allow me to clarify that a full bow means bending into a kneel on the ground, bending over, raising your hands on either side of your head and then standing up only to repeat this motion over and over again.  Not only is it tough on your thighs and knees but the speed at which you move from one bow to the next is rather quick – 108 bows takes less than 15 minutes.  The speed is just too fast for me and I’m disappointed that I only manage to do 64 bows before having to excuse myself for fresh air and a respite from the stifling heat of the room.  Even with the doors open, the room is unbearably hot.

After the agony of 108 bows, we’re introduced to meditation and our monk teaches us the correct posture for mediation.  I’d always thought that meditation involved closed eyes but according to our monk, it involves squinting at your nose – closed eyes means that you’ve fallen asleep and that earns you a reprimand from the meditation master.  Meditation is followed by group massages as dictated by our monk.  By 6:00am, we’re starving and grateful that it’s breakfast time even if it is a traditional Korean breakfast.  As much as I like kimchi, I’ve never eaten if for breakfast and I’m a bit hesitant about this meal which is also going to be eaten in the traditional monk style – Baru Gongyang.   We’re assigned to two groups: One will collect all of the breakfast things from the dining room and the second group will return the breakfast things and take care of the dishes.  My group hastens to fetch breakfast and, when we return, our monk selects people to serve the various parts of the meal and we’re shown how to serve these things and how to receive them.  We’re also shown how to set out the bowls correctly on the place mat.

Baru Gongyang

There are four bowls in the set and they all fold away neatly into one another.  The first (and smallest) bowl is placed in top left hand corner and is used for the side dishes – this means the kimchi and vegetables in the meal.  The second smallest bowl is placed beside it and is the water bowl – this is the water that you use to clean your bowls and the water that you ultimately have to drink.  The second largest bowl is placed in the bottom right corner and is used for soup while the largest bowl, naturally, is used for rice and remains in the bottom left corner of the mat. 

With our bowls in place, we’re ready to get the ‘cleaning’ water.  I’ve already heard about the process involved in this meal and can’t help sending a rather fervent prayer that the previous person cleaned these bowls thoroughly.  I’m grateful though to have been told that the water used to clean the bowls also has to be drunk at the end of the meal so when we’re told to decide how much water we think we’ll need to clean our bowls, I’m careful to consider the ultimate action in this meal and accept less than half a bowl of water as opposed to the full bowl of the person sitting beside me.  The water is poured into our rice bowls where it is swirled around before being transferred to the soup bowl then the side dish bowl and finally the water bowl where the chopsticks and spoon are also cleaned.  From here, we have soup and rice served to us and we’re invited to help ourselves to side dishes.  We’re reminded to take radish which ultimately becomes our scrubbing brush when it’s time to do our dishes. 

I can already hear several foreigners complaining about the meal ahead as we’re reminded to only take as much as we will eat since the monks don’t believe in wasting food: Everything in your bowls must be eaten so it’s advisable to choose your food carefully.  The meal is tastier than expected although it simply feels strange to be eating soup, rice and kimchi so early in the morning.  We’re told that everything that the monks do is done as quietly as possible and we’re encouraged to make no noise while eating.  I’m disappointed to hear several foreigners grumble, complain and ignore this as the clatter of chopsticks and spoons continue to echo around the small meditation room in which we sit. 

Scrub Little Radish, Scrub!

After our meal, it’s time to do our dishes.  Once again, I’m semi-grateful to have already been told what doing the dishes involves in this particular meal and I feel slightly disgusted at the thought of what lies ahead.  We pour water from our water bowls into our rice bowls and use the slice of radish as a quasi-scrubbing brush to scrape the remnants of rice from the sides of the bowl.  Once the rice bowl is clean, we transfer the water to the soup and side dish bowls respectively repeating the cleaning process with each bowl before finally eating the radish and drinking the water.  Many people are thoroughly grossed out by the idea of drinking this water but, as KiwiKat has already explained, it is all just food and it’s food that you’ve just eaten – assuming, of course, that the previous person who used those bowls cleaned them thoroughly.

Touring the Grounds

After breakfast, we’re given just over an hour of free time.  Most people seem to opt to use this time to get some more sleep but I’m wide awake at this point even though it’s barely after 7:00am so I decide to explore the temple grounds a bit more.  I’m amazed at how many Korean visitors there already are on the temple grounds but the relatively peace and tranquillity of the morning is thoroughly enjoyable as I wander from temple to temple reading the notes about each building and thinking about how much history is contained in some of the buildings.  I may know next to nothing about Buddhism itself but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the beauty of my surroundings and I'm reminded of just how much I enjoy the early hours of the morning - if only I could get myself out of bed at this time more often.

At 8:20, we once again meet in front of the meditation room where people are just waking up for the second time in over four hours and we assemble for our tour of the temple grounds – the same self-guided tour I’ve just taken.  The community work segment of our itinerary involves chopping logs of wood but sadly this seems to be more of an experience to simply try to chop wood than any real interest in doing community service and most foreigners don’t even bother to try and chop a log of wood.  The final part of the tour is the monks’ graveyard which, although very small, has an incredible sense of history surrounding it.  With the tour done, it’s time for a meditation walk in the pine forest where we’re shown a beautiful love tree and told that anyone wanting more love in their lives should stand beneath this tree.  The walk ends with a brief meditation in the most tranquil and beautiful parts of the forest and I have a sudden desire to stay in this spot all day.  Unfortunately, our meditation is short and we’re soon heading back to the main temple grounds for the final part of the temple stay experience: Making Buddhist prayer beads. 

108 Bows: Round Two

Back in the meditation room, before being shown how to make the prayer beads, we’re first offered tea and rice cake in celebration of Mariah’s 30^th birthday.  Our monk has dubbed her Mariah Carey since she first pointed out that her first name is pronounced the same way as that of Mariah Carey – and not Maria as so many Koreans apparently say.  She’s given three large candles to blow out while we all sing “Happy Birthday” and the ‘birthday’ cake is handed out.  I genuinely like rice cake and this is some of the tastiest rice cake I’ve had in Korea.  With the celebrations done, the monk gets down to the business of demonstrating how to make the prayer beads.

This Is How We Do It...

Before we can even place one bead on the string, we first have to do three full bows to Buddha.  Once we’ve done the introductory bows, we have to do a full bow for every bead that we place on the string; there are 108 beads so a bow for every bead, three introductory and three concluding bows means a total of 114 bows just to make one set of prayer beads.  We’re each given a packet of beads, a cloth to work on, an hour to make the prayer beads and the option of which temple we’d like to use.  Most people opt for the main temple which has large heaters in it but I choose the oldest temple because I like the sense of history and I’m fascinated by the three enormous statues in this particular temple.  Fortunately, there are also some heaters in this temple although the weather is rather mild for a winter’s day. 

Working at my own pace, I’m determined to do all of the bows this time although prostrating myself to Buddha just feels odd.  I’m not overly religious but I do feel a slight sense of guilt with each bow and the cross around my neck weighs heavy on my conscious.  Midway through the making of our prayer beads, a monk comes in to do the midday chants.  It’s rather relaxing listening to the rhythmic chant of the prayer and I find myself moving in sync with the rhythm of his chanting.  Unfortunately, I also find myself the midday entertainment for a number of Koreans who have come into the temple for the midday chants.  I’m the last person in this particular temple to finish my prayer beads but I feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I’ve actually done this as I head back to the meditation room where we’ll be helped to finish off our beads. 

Back in the meditation room, I’m asked if there are definitely only 108 beads on my string.  I’ve used all of the beads in the packet we were given and I’ve just assumed that this means there are 108 beads on the string.  Once again, I experience that assuming anything in Korea only leads to screw ups as I count the beads carefully and discover that there are, in fact, 144 on my string.  I did an extra 30 bows for beads that I must now remove in order to have a correct strand.  I reluctantly pull of the extra beads and hand the string to an ajumma who finishes off my strand of prayer beads by putting on the decorative and mother beads before tying a knot, burning the edge of the string and handing it back to me.  With the final activity now over, we have lunch where a random ajumma seems fascinated to see so many waegooks in monastic wear.  She walks up to us with a camera and starts taking photos of us as we stand in a line waiting to wash our lunch dishes before collecting our bags, returning our monastic wear and heading to the AK bus for the trip home.