"We Went Chasing Waterfalls,

We Didn't Stick to the Rivers and the Lakes that We're Used to,

We Wanted It Our Way or Nothing Else,

I Think We Were Moving to Fast"

Alissa and I went to the 3 biggest waterfalls on Jeju Island. The sound of water surging through ancient volcanic rock was so soothing. We even crawled and waded under some of them. One of the Waterfalls dumps right into the ocean; it is the only one like this in the world!

Sorry about the cheesy song reference.

Some of You Might have Vomited but Alissa and I Think It's Delicious...

Alissa and I couldn't resist trying some of the famously fresh specially dishes that Jeju is famous for.

Our second night we tried some of the local seafood. Alissa ordered a bean curd soup with local shellfish and I ordered Salted/Fried Jeju Snapper. The soup was fresh, there was one critter in the soup that we couldn't identify. Alissa thought it was a lobster like creature and I thought it was a crazy shrimp like creature. We agreed to disagree and eat it anyways. MMMmmmm.... mystery shellfish!!!!

On our last night I wanted to try the famous Jeju pork I had heard so much about in Korea. The Jeju pig is black with slightly different features than the inland pigs due to the geographical isolation of the island. All Koreans swear that these pigs taste much better than pink colored inland pigs.

So we scoped out a busy pork restaurant (it's the sign of a good restaurant in Korea) and ordered the precious pork. There were 2 different kinds of pig on the menu, I pointed to the more expensive one assuming that it was the 'black pig'. Of course we ordered some of the famous Halasan Soju to wash it down.

A sweet Korean lady BBQed it up for us right in front of us on our table. They also grilled up some local potatoes, onions, and of course some Kimchi too. Alissa and I ate the pork and we both agreed that it was the best pork we ever tried in our lives, it was so juicy and flavourful.

When we got home I was raving about how delish the eats were in Jeju. My Korean friends asked "Did you eat the 'black pig' ?

I was so proud to have consumed this Korean delicacy and replied "Of course I did".

They said "I can't believe you ate ddong degi!"

"Pardon Me!!!" I replied.

"Ddong Degi.... you know, shit pig!" they said.

"Shit Pig!?!" I said inquisitively.

They replied... "Yeah... didn't you know that they feed ALL the black pigs on Jeju shit!"

Shocked I asked "All the pigs???"

"Yep"

"Human Shit or pig shit?"

"Human"

The farming on Jeju is done very naturally, useing much of the same techniques that were used thousands of years ago. I guess the farmers on Jeju use out houses that drain directly into a trough that the pigs eat from.... I'm not shiting you (pardon the pun)... this is not a joke, it was confirmed by every Korean person I've asked. Before I left to the island I was on a mission to find shit pig and try it, but Alissa said that she would never kiss me again if I ate it, so I gave up. I guess we ended up eating it without even knowing!!! Alissa almost threw up when I finally broke the news too her...

We still both agree that it was the best pork that we've tried in our life times...

Mmmmm shit pig.... mmmmm!!!

It Was One of the Most Peaceful Places I've Ever Been to...

The scenery over the garden was dreamlike and serene. The famous giant Jeju citrus oranges hung from the branches as the sound of water trickled down volcanic rock. The pond was filled with giant Koi spotted with majestic patterns of orange, black, and white (check out the crazy dog face image on the Koi in the photo). A few grounds people mindfully pruned the trees, they seemed to almost blend into the background. Alissa and I sauntered through the park, then made the decision to eat at the restaurant that overlooked the grounds. We quietly ate the traditional Korean buffet on the patio and made sure to enjoy every second of our stay at Bunjae Artpia.

We Experienced the Wonder of the Bunjae Artpia...

Look at the pictures above again. These are not pictures I took in a forest of massive towering trees. All of the pictures above were taken at the Bunjae Artpia, and all of the trees are Bonsai. The height of these trees range from one to two feet in height!!!

At the Bunjae Artpia, our first stop on our Jeju Island Adventure, we learned about the art of Bonsai (or as the Koreans call it 'Bunjae') in one of the largest Bonsai gardens in Asia.

If one is truly to appreciate the Bonsia, one must stoop very low and put ones head under the mini tree. One must look from the roots up. One must not touch the tree or make an immediate judgment on the Bunsai. One must never ask the price of a Bonsai unless they are actually prepared to purchase the tree. One must ponder the lessons that that tree can offer us. One must never rub ones genitals on or against any part of the tree.

Last weekend Alissa and I spent three days on the beautiful tropical Korean island of Jeju.

Jeju is the most popular tourist destination in Korea. It is a volcanic island and is often referred to as the 'Hawaii of Korea'. There was so much fun stuff to do there and so little time. Over the next few days I will be spiting out some of the crazy adventures that we had on this island paradise!

Touring Fully Operational Korean Battleships, Checking Out the Whale Ice Sculpture Contest, Chillin and Illin at the Harbour, Peacin Out to an 8 Piece Orchestra of Traditional Korean Instruments and Singers in Full Traditional Dress, Checkin out the Ultra Dorky Model Ship Display... It's All in a Day At....

The Annual Ulsan Whale Festival!!!

We Had a Whale of a Time At the Whale Museum and Festival!!!

I had no idea how much I could learn about whales!?!

Did you know...

• The Korean Gray Whale uses the Korean South Sea to mate very year


• Whaling was only banned in 1986


• The blue whale is the biggest mammal on Earth. It's 33m long and weighs 179 tons.


• There is even prehistoric cave carvings of Whaling in Korea


• The Korean Gray Whale is always covered in barnacles and parasites which bury so deep into their skin that when the whales knock off the parasites they are scared with white marks until they die (see pic)


• non-teethed whales feed by catching plants and animals which filter through their whalebone or baleen when they swim (see pic of baleen)


• almost every part of a whale was used for something and nothing was thrown away


• teethed whales (like dolphins) produce complicated sound waves for communication by vibrating a fatty organ called the 'melon' located just behind their forehead


• food, food oils, candles, medicines, soap, perfume, lipsticks, ornaments, and fertilizer were all produced from whales

Alissa Ran Her First Marathon- The Ulsan Whale Marathon!!!

The deets:

After rippin it up in Daegu at Buddha's Birthday Festival, Alissa, Katie, and I took a 2 hour 'slow' train to the harbour city of Ulsan.

Ulsan is famous for two things: it's the home to one of Korea's biggest and most powerful companies, Hyundai, and it used to be one of the biggest whaling ports in Asia before whaling was banned in 1985.

The Whale Marathon took place along the modern industrial harbour in what used to be the main whaling port - it wasn't what we expected. We thought that we would be jogging through the picturesque harbour, viewing the beaches with seagulls flying overhead. I didn't see one seagull or beach....

The whole course weaved between oil refining plants, car factories, and other large metallic buildings. The best view was definitely of the harbour- it was filled with large container ships, docks, and large containers. Because I am from the middle of Canada, I sure thought it was interesting to see the action of the harbour as I chugged along the 21.3 Km course.

Alissa and Katie were super stoked about running their first race. Alissa finished close to one hour and waited for Katie to finish. She knew that Katie was in trouble when the clock read 1 hour 20 minutes, and there was still no sign of her friend! She ended up coming in at around 1 hour 30 minutes... I guess she accidentally ran some of the poorly marked 1/2 marathon course before someone told her to turn around!

How o-old are you,

How o-old are you,

How o-old,

How o-old,

How o-old are you!!!

Little kids dressed up like Buddha wondering the streets. A pack of women marched up and down the street striking hallow wooden bells, dressed in traditional gray Buddhist clothes. The sound of wood on wood marked the start of the 111 prostrations to Buddha. 111 volunteers held signs with numbers from 1 to 111. Each volunteer went to the staged and bowed to Buddha.

Apparently, the historical Buddha turned 2551 this year....

I wonder if that includes reincarnations or not ?!?

Big Kids,

Little Kids,

Kids that Climb on Rocks,

Even Kids With Chicken Pox!?!

Lanterns lined the street. All the strange characters made it out for the Birthday Celebration!!!

We Took in Some Lively Dancing On Buddha's Birthday Festival

The costumes and make up were over the top and the dances were upbeat. The large crowd clapped along to the music that was strangely western!?!

The last performance stood out for the both of us. Unlike the dances before it was done to the back drop of chanting and gonging. The men and women moved slowly, each movement precise and mindful. Their costumes were like something I've never seen before in Korea- long white robes that hung off their arms and dragged on the ground when they walked underneath a silk red shirt, red, blue, green, and yellow sashes dangled around their necks, thin, white gloves covered their hands, which carried large pink lotus flowers, their heads were adorned with a large bamboo weaved hat that acted as a blinder impeding their peripheral vision, it was decorated with stitchings of lotus flowers.

The lotus embodies and symbolizes Buddhism. It grows in the muddy swamps of Korea, yet it is fragrant, pure, clean, and clear. It represents rebirth and truth. The dance, I believe, symbolized these things.

Happy Birthday Buddha!!!!

We had a dozey of a weekend that involved accidentally stumbling upon a Happy Birthday Buddha Festival in Daegu, running a marathon in the industrial port city of Ulsan, and attending a Whale Annual Whale Festival!!!!

When Alissa, Katie (our USA friend from Chilgok) and I set off to catch the train to Ulsan we didn't expect to run into a colorful, lively, and crowded festival celebrating Buddha's life.

From a distance we saw the wonderfully bright colored floats and we knew we would again experience something like nothing we've ever witnessed before!!!