Day 8: Touring Andong... The Soju Museum

We did a day trip to Andong on Saturday. The first stop was the soju museum. In Korea they have different local soju depending on where you live. Daegu is famous for Charm Soju, its the standard at which we judge other soju. Pusan has its 'fresher' C2 Soju. Jeju has its icy cool smooth Halla Mountain Soju. And, Andong, a small city just north of Daegu known for its traditional laid back lifestyle, is known for its strong as hell, breath of fire, Andong Soju.

We toured the shity little museum with its cheesy displays on how Andong Soju is still made virtually the same way it was made hundreds of years ago. Then we helped our selves to plenty of free 'samples', also known as free shots until we were feelin pretty good.

Then, stinking like a bunch of alcoholic foreigners, we made our way by bus to an even more traditional village a few kilometers out of town..

Chanting To Amita Buddha

This was probably one of the most powerful of Fanta's experiences in Korea...



In a hall located at the far right hand side of the temple grounds, as dictated by feng shui, is a temple dedicated to Amita Buddha. In this painted old wood structure the sounds of a wooden bell and chanting of the faithful pulled us into mindfulness... mindlessness... into peace.

Days 4 through 7...

Uhhh... actually we're a little shady on the exact days we did stuff but basically we took the week to show Fanta around Colorful, Colorful Daegu. This is the motto of Daegu which gets ridiculed constantly by foreigners and locals alike but, in the climax of the fall season, it truly lives up to its name.

We checked out the herbal medicine market, went to our favorite tea houses, did some downtown shopping, and ate at some more of our favorites places.

The highlight of the midweek was likely our trip to the largest temple in the Daegu area, Donghwa temple. Alissa and I hiked around this area a few weeks before Fanta came and were fully aware of the beauty waiting to be appreciated on the holy slopes of Palgong Mountain.

After three bus transfers and a short but bit of a steep hike, we entered the temple ground of Donghwa temple. Its peace and tranquility was felt as we entered the enormous main gate. With the trees vibrant as ever and with monks chanting in the background we explored these ancient temple grounds.

Fanta's Third Day In Korea

While I darted back to Daegu to work, Alissa and Fanta took the fall morning to enjoy Gyeongbokgung Palace. This old palace and surrounding park must have been a perfect transition from Seoul's busy downtown to the slower pace of Chilgok, the suburb of Daegu where we live.

After we came home from work that night we went out for galbi (Korean pork BBQ) at one of our favorite joints. It was in that restaurant where we created an impromptu song that became a bit of an anthem throughout Fanta's stay.

“We're goin' eat GALBI, GALBI, tonight.
We're goin' eat GALBI, GALBI, tonight.”

Day 2: Artsy Seoul

On day two we woke up a bit late due to our late night gallivanting the night before. We took the metro to the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, the premier art gallery of Korea. There we saw such awe inspiring pieces, the out door exhibit of freaky looking giant spiders was quite memorable as well as many old pieces of pottery from thousands of years ago.

After that we traversed small alleyways in search of Sanchon, a famous all vegetarian authentic Buddhist restaurant. It was a lot more breathtaking inside than the outside lead us to believe. Once we stepped inside we felt at peace inside this old traditional Korean home. We were served 16 small side dishes, all of which were better than any we had tried in the last few years in Korea. I guess that wasn't much of a surprise as Sanchon was selected as one of the top 10 best restaurants in Asia by the Washington Post.

After digesting our meal over tea in a few tea houses, we winded down the night at a Japanese bar.

Fanta in Korea Day One (Night One)

Over the next few weeks or so we will be chronicling the (mis) adventures we had with our friend Fanta- our last fling with Korea... Enjoy...

After waiting for a few hours at the wrong gate at the very Starwars-shaped Incheon International Airport, (sorry Fanta) we finally found Fanta and subwayed our way into the core of Seoul. Coming up from the subway station into the middle of Seoul was a lot like burrowing from one side of earth and then just popping up in the bustling brights light of Seoul's city center on the other side of the globe. The look and excitement on Fantas face when walking up those stairs is priceless.

After ditching her luggage at a cheap-ass love motel we wandered the small alleyways of Insadong before sitting down for Fanta's first Korean meal.

After chowing down on hot Korean dishes and a few bottles of soju we taxied down to hundred-year-old Dongdaemoon (East Gate) to check out the all-night-long market. The streets were packed with stalls and what seemed like tens of thousands of eager bargain-hunters. After hours of elbow-to-elbow shopping late into the night (mainly for earings and scarfs!), and at the point of all most dropping from shopping, we hauled our tired bodies into a street stall where we indulged in Korean street food.

The fried-battered-seafood-pizza-like-thing was amazing, the pan fired chicken thing a bit greasy, but as we hailed a cab half cut off the other bottle of soju we ordered we were definitely ready to call it a night...

and that was just Fanta's first few hours in Korea.