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.

Views From Bukchon

I had to make a short stop in Seoul on my way to Chuncheon to run one of Korea's famous full course marathons on the weekend. I spent most of my time unsuccessfully navigating old alleyways in the Bukchon area in search of a traditional Korean guesthouse where I could spend a peaceful night. The Bukchon area used to be the area of town where the well-to-do government officials used to live.

Enjoying a Sunday, Enjoying Korea, Enjoying the Fall

Today we took the opportunity to bask in Autumn's colourful splendor. A long rewarding hike up Daegu's holy Palgong mountains (pal = eight, gong = 0 . . . Eight-Zero Mountains).

The hike took us up a weaving path tunneling through trees bright with yellows, reds, oranges, and unturned greens. We made a stop at three Buddhist hermitages, each had its own charms.
After working up a mighty apatite we enjoyed a mountain-herb inspired version of chicken soup which included a whole chicken boiled in a broth with ginseng, jujube, and other medicinal herbs. We ate perched up on a deck watching the sun set lazily behind similar coloured leaves.

Full from the meal and exhausted from all the fresh air, we must have fallen asleep as soon as we sat down on our bus headed back into the city.

Local Market

I snapped these pictures when walking through a traditional Korean market. This market is located on my way from my first place of employment to my second and takes place about twice a month. It's always a real treat to experience the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and just overall feel of traditional Korea.

Video From Dok Gu Spa

The outside was beautiful and serene.

The inside was jet massage crazy.

Weekend Get Away

Last weekend we freed up our busy Saturday and went on a little bit of an adventure. We headed to the east coast with 'beaching it' in our minds.



The weekend was a little drowsy and when we got to the beach in Pohang we bunkered down at a motel with a beautiful seafront view. We Listened to the waves put us to sleep after filling up on a variety of fresh shellfish that we filled with onions, hot sauce, and cheese while they roasted on the barbecue overlooking the beach.



The next morning we took a bus up a famous coastal highway that spends most of its time snaking its way between the mountains on one side and rocky coasts and sporadic small white sand beaches on the other side.


After a few hours and a few bus transfers, our bus ascended a mountain valley before being completely engulfed in their greenery, taking in the scenery we reached our final destination, Dok Gu Hot Springs Spa.

It's Been Two Years to the Day

I still enjoy the sound of cicadas chirping in the trees in the heat of the afternoon sun. The greenness of the towering mountains peeking between high rise apartments. The smell of the briskly moving mountain stream after a night of heavy rainfall. The sights and sounds of fighter jets flying agilely in formation overhead. The sound of the pattering rain and happy croaking frogs. The smell of the sun dried vegetation after a long rain. The thick smothering humidity of the air in the lungs, coating my body.

This is summer in Daegu.

And as I write this, the sunny day seems cooler than usual. Fall will soon be here. Enjoy it while you can.

Summer Stamina

The days are still unrelentingly hot. To give you an idea of exactly how hot it is here, I haven't wore a jacket, sweater, pants, or even a long sleeve shirt in Korea since the beginning of April! Even in the middle of the night the temperature generally stays above 30 Degrees if you factor in humidity.

One of the ways Koreans beat the heat is to eat dog, chicken, or goat soup. These animals are said to give the common person stamina to fight through the hottest days of summer thereby allowing them to work their hardest in uncomfortably hot conditions.

So yesterday, some teachers at the prison and I, went out for lunch. The restaurant was a goat restaurant, but also served dog. Evading pressure to try the dog, I ordered goat soup.

Enjoying the Summer in Daegu

Over the last few weeks we have tried our best to enjoy the summer weather in Daegu.

Our good friends, Maggie and Noah, purchased a small charcoal grill and we've been putting it to use. Rooftop BBQs and grilling burgers in the park, our weekly picnics have definitely improved.

The best way to enjoy the summer in Daegu, the hottest of all cities in Korea, is to simply leave Daegu. And so, with the daily temperatures around 100 degrees F not including the smothering humidity, we've been trying to make it to the beach.

Last weekend we spent the day at Korea's largest beach, Haeundae Beach, in Pusan. This weekend we are off to Daecheon Beach to take part in the biggest beach party of the year, Mudfest.

Enjoy the heat to its fullest in the Summer.
Enjoy the cold to its fullest in the Winter.
In this way, great appreciation of nature's opposites will be cultivated.

Peace

Telling a Tale of Trouble Never Told

While driving my father's new 2007 Honda Ridgeline that he had purchased while I was home, I was reminded of a story from high school. It was something about asking to borrow the keys and the feel of driving in such a hiked up ride that induced memories of cruising in the navy blue 1997 Ford Explorer. And boy, did I cruise. The following story will reveal a secret that has never been revealed before, well, at least not to my dad.

The night was early and there was nothing at all to do. With the keys of the new Explorer in my hands, it was time to pick up my partner in crime and all other things ill, Graeme Thompson. After picking him up we were left with the dilemma facing all high school students with no plans, what were we to do?

As for most wiley teens, fun is the fun you make. And with the keys to a car, never mind a new fourwheel drive SUV, the possibilities seemed endless. And so we drove. Really driving in high school is actually an event in and of itself. The independence of such a simple act that so many now take for granted is relished by any self discovering adolescent. We really had no particular destination in mind just driving for the sake of driving, sun roof and windows down, music testing the limits of the factory installed 6 X 9 speaker system pounding out the angst of Graeme famous mix tapes.

Teens at this age crave fun like cokeheads crave crack, especially on a Saturday night. Teens seem imbued with the ingenuous skills to always create their own fun. And growing board with cruising Albert St. and the North, South, East and West sides extensively, tonight was a night when fun had to be created.

Four Wheel Drive- ohh yeah, we turned it on. We bounced and flailed around with the freeflowing ideologies of 90s alternative rock as our anthem. The Explorer explored the rougher periphery of the Queen City, it's no jungle safari but just a step outside the concrete jungle- it was as good as it gets. Or so we thought...

As the night wore on fourwheeling just wasn't doing it for us anymore, we decided to test the true limits of the Explorer. Yeah sure it could explore the sadly flat wildgrass fields of the prairies but how would it handle the mountains?

Problem: the closest mountains were at least eight hours away.
Solution: Find the closest thing to a mountain.

In ol' Walsh Acres the closest thing is more like a hill, but tonight it would have to do. And so we popped the new shiny black tires up on the curb and then creeped into French Park. After darting around the sides of the hill a few times at speeds that were likely to flip a sedan, not to mention, a teetering SUV. Then, we took it for one last test.

We slowly backed the Explorer carefully toward the fence at the far end of the park, the rear fender just inches from the painted wood. We reved the engine in neutral before popping it into gear, darting full speed, taking the hill straight on. We had overestimated how fast the SUV could accelerate and before we knew it we had hit the top of the hill. Then we got airborne, I mean WE GOT AIRBORNE. The front of the car pointed nose up before, it violently bounced down on the other side of the hill before bouncing once more. We thought we were going to die. To a teenager who thinks they're indestructible, almost dieing but not dieing is the best feeling in the world.

Saskatchewan Skies

You can't put the look of a prairie sky into words...

My Brother

Someone in Regina asked me, “Who out of all the people that you have visited, changed the most?”

Well, my parents are still pretty much just doing the same old things they were doing when I left, most of my friends have secured provincial government jobs now, but really haven't changed much. Oh, Chris and Joe bought a nice house, and, of course, the Gooses tied the metaphorical knot, but still they are basically the same people, doing the same characteristic things they usually do.

There was one person who I thought changed the most (if you can't figure out who by the title and pictures you deserve to be shot in the head), my brother, Garret.

Yeah, he still takes ridiculous amounts of supplemental vitamins and drives his big, rusty Toyota truck, but he has changed in a big way.

He used to frequent the place he called, his 'Batcave' AKA our parents basement. Now, he lives in a cool flat-roofed rented house close to the U of S.

He once used to go on dates with only Selinger and Kovatch, now he goes on heterosexual dates with his cute nursing-student girlfriend, Kristine.

His main duty in the mornings used to be, making sure the basement couch in our parents' basement retained the worked-in form of his body, now he's up at 5:00AM working nursing practicum shifts before finishing assignments late into the night.

I must say, I feel like the lazy one now, as I sip tea and type this entry late into the morning after browsing travel guides of countries I am sure to visit soon. Either way, I am proud of the studious, yet still fun-loving person he has become. The time we spent with him and Kristine in Saskatoon were some of the best times we had on our trip home.

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. And Mrs. Goose!!!

Honk, Honk, Honk...
Some pics from the wedding.

Going Home

Pillowing cumulus clouds below
Pinks splice oranges, reds and blues
Staring out the airplane window
I'm on top of the world.