Gwangju redeems itself a little and 500 year old gardens disappoint...also, I eat bamboo jerky.

Ahhh...summer is officially here in Korea. How do I know? My skin feels like I just bathed in liquid sugar and I'm sweating like a lady-of-the-night in confession.

Summer, while necessitating half a dozen wardrobe changes a day and making me do laundry three times as often as usual, means that it's time for t-shirts, backpacks and travelling.

I did my first weekend-long trip of the season with my friend Yunmi a couple of weekends ago. We decided to head to Damyang, which is just outside of Gwangju, roughly 4 hours north-west of where I live. I've been to Gwangju before, and I've concluded that it was "The City of Perpetual Nothingness." So, not wanting to waste too much time there (more on Gwangju in a bit), we headed straight to Damyang and its famous bamboo park also called the Juknokwon Bamboo Forest.

Damyang itself is a sleepy little friendly town, with a big, beautiful river running through it. On one bank is Juknokwon...to be honest, there's not much to be said for the bamboo forest aside from the fact that...yes, it's pretty cool...you're in a bamboo forest. In typical Korean fashion, though, it was crowded, so if you're looking for that serene, away-from-the-world-and-its-troubles feeling, look elsewhere. Still, it had some idyllic spots, such as the waterfall:

Wandering through the bamboo forest, you could also chomp down on all sorts of delicacies, including what I can only describe as bamboo jerky...it was surprisingly delicious!

We spent a few hours bumming around the bamboo forest and making friends with the pandas, then headed to the river.

The river itself was nice, but not especially picturesque, but what made it amazing was that both banks were crowded with people walking, riding bikes, etc. It's awesome how active Koreans can get! It was one of the few places I've seen in Korea that had tandem bikes, and couples (usually wearing matching shirts) took full advantage of the opportunity.

After that we wandered around Damyang for a bit, hiked up a small hill and found an awesome monument to the fallen of past wars:

Following that, we headed back to Gwangju, not expecting much. After asking a few people where downtown was, we headed there, got off the bus and were greeted with...nothing. Even Yunmi remarked that despite being "downtown" the place was eerily empty. Interestingly, a block or two away from the main street things got lively, loud and interesting! Not only was there a festival, but we found several long pedestrian streets with shops, cafes, and restaurants lining both sides. This was a nice departure from the usually ho-hum grayness of the city! After securing a motel (dirt cheap...even in the downtown core, it was $25 for a clean, spacious suite!), we went wandering around and found a free, open-air concert by YB (or Yoon Do Hyun Band ), one of Korea's most famous rock bands!

As you guys know, unless it comes to T-Ara (an all-girl K-pop group), by and large I can't stand the generic and boring genre that is K-Pop. So, to see a true rock band (even if they were a little behind the times by western standards...it was like watching a rock band in the 1980s haha), was a massive treat! They put on a wicked and energetic set...one of the songs complete with drum solo and pyrotechnics!

The next day, we got going nice and late (thanks to me sleeping in 'till 10:30...amazing what a set of curtains will do...I'm so used to the morning Sun waking me up!), grabbed some breakfast on the go (fresh melon smoothie and strawberry waffle together for the equivalent of $1.70!!!)...

...and headed for the second planned destination of our trip: Soswaewon Garden. It was constructed about 500 years ago by a scholar who had had enough of the system (after his friend was exiled and killed) and wanted to escape into the middle of nowhere and live out his days in peace.

On paper, the place sounded amazing. So, we hopped on a bus to get downtown, then another to get us out to Soswaewon (the latter one being an hour-long bus ride). We got there, grabbed some tickets, walked in...and exclaimed: "Ummm....Really? This is it??"

The "garden" was extremely underwhelming and disappointing. Sure, it's cool that some guy built it 500 years ago - even if pretty much nothing of the original structures remain as it was no more immune to Japanese invaders and their torches than most other Korean buildings of historical significance -, but it was less a garden and more just...well, just a couple of buildings and some stone walls and stairs in the middle of the forest. I couldn't see anything in this so-called garden that looked like it didn't just grow there anyways. Except for the koi fish pond, which was so murky you couldn't see more than 1 cm below the surface. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the fish trying to jump out to end his miserable life.

Neat...but does not live up to all the hype:

On the way back, we grabbed some corn on the cob from a street vendor and for a moment wondered whether she had accidentally sold us props from the nearest Ikea store. The taste and texture were dead-ringers for cheap plastic.

We waited an hour and 15 minutes for a bus that was supposed to run once an hour and then bounced the hour back to Gwangju. I don't regret going to Soswaewon, but I certainly won't be returning anytime soon!

One city I can always guarantee I'll be back to, however, is Busan! Tune in tomorrow for another entry on Busan and Geoje Island!!

Cheerio,
T

It's spring, the air's warm and the sun's out...let the adventures resume!

Well, the weather's getting better in Korea (after a long winter and a chilly spring), some days getting close to 30 degrees, so the adventures are officially beginning anew!

The big change this year is that I have my own transportation in the form of a stylish and super fast Daelim Magma...okay, so I may have overstated things a little. It's more like a lawnmower with a vinyl seat. Still, it's fun to bomb around on it, and get to see places I'd never see, were I to rely on public transportation.

A couple of weeks ago I had half a day off thanks to the ministry sending me to a conference "Educating Green Cities"...which they mistakenly thought was about education. In reality, it was about eco-friendly initiatives in cities. Oops. There were about 8 of us teachers there lost in a sea of local and international delegates, pretty much all of them mayors and city planners. Oh well, we had to sit through 90 minutes of lectures a day for two days (on stuff that has nothing to do with anything in our lives...we're thinking it was either a mistake because of the word "education" or a deliberate attempt to boost the international attendance numbers of the conference), then we buggered off and did our own thing.

So I headed south of Masan to the Gapo area, one I have heard much about but have only been once (and even then I had no idea where I was, as it was pretty early on in my stay in Korea).

To my great surprise, I found a restaurant that had views that could have passed for a tropical resort:

Same place, different view...toward the big famous bridge in Masan:

A good spot for a drink and a snack:

Later on in the same ride, I found something cool...a trio of Samsung electric cars!! ...they even had Samsung tape decks. So I took a picture of them with my Samsung phone...oh Korea! But yeah, these things were TINY! And - interestingly enough - they had windows at the BOTTOM of the doors - but the real side windows were zip-up plastic dealios. Makes sense, right?

This guy had three (I've never seen them anywhere else, he may have the only ones left in existence)...I'd totally rock one!! I haven't been able to find any info on these on the interwebs...so, if anyone knows anything about these, please let me know!

More Korean stuff. Yesterday, Anthony (my new riding buddy, and fellow proud Daelim owner) and I headed up to Uiryeong to hang out with Lynda and Evan at the (are you ready for this?) Uiryeong Watermelon Festival! That's right. I couldn't make this stuff up.

They had all the usual stuff you would expect at such an event. Watermelons. Watermelon carving contest. Watermelon jam. Bull fighting. Yellow watermelons. Wait...what? Yeah, you read that right. Bull fighting. No family event celebrating a large fruit is complete without two two-thousand-pound hairy beasts going at it.

The match is considered finished when one of the bulls runs away, crying like a little girl, presumably to complain in the locker room that if he didn't have a cold, he could have, like, totally kicked the other bull's ass.

Check it...yellow watermelon...it was pretty good, kind of like a normal watermelon with a hint of cantaloupe.

Another "must" for all Korean gatherings are couples wearing matching clothing. They're usually pretty boring, but every now again you find gems. Like these two with their obviously knockoff Adidas sweaters...please note the matching fans. The only thing missing from this perfect, happy Korean couple is the girl's purse hanging from the man's shoulder (another favourite around here):

Later that night, we headed back to Samgye (by the way, I live there now, new apartment!!! I'll have a video of it one of these days)...where Nick and Sarah hosted another one of their awesome potlucks, followed by bowling (I rolled a 101 or something like that - I broke 100, that's all I know haha. Pretty sure I'm going to turn professional any day now!!!). Among other things, I also demonstrated the proper way to use your helmet as a purse (there's a waterbottle, a pair of gloves, and other random stuff stashed away in there, using the chin strap as a convenient carry handle):

Today, Anthony and I saddled up again, intent on finding a way to get from Masan to Haeundae Beach in Busan. But, we gave up as soon as we got into Busan and took a wrong turn that took us up a massively steep dead-end road on a mountain. Not ones to be discouraged we decided to ride around Gimhae to see what we could find. Both of us being nerds, we were elated to find the Observatory...so up we rode (on a wickedly fun twisty road!)

This one's for my dad :)

The view from the top was breathtaking, but sadly it was an overcast day, so it doesn't really show it...we're definitely going back on a sunny day...the view, with one of the buildings (this building was hollow with a bunch of catwalks on 4 or 5 levels running around inside, where kids could go and check out all sorts of educational stations). The protruding thing on the top was a cool little viewing platform!

Of course no roadtrip is complete unless you have to stop a few times with a map/GPS and scratch your head trying to figure out where you took a wrong turn and just how far off-course you are. Anthony with the Daelims (his in the front, the blue one in the back is mine)...he rides a ferocious fire-breathing 140cc Daystar II, which annihilates my 125cc Magma.

By the way...riding to Busan is totally not worth it. It's more expensive than the bus and it takes longer, since the bus is a straight-shot on the express highway (no motorbikes allowed), where the Kia coaches do something like 280 km/h, or at least that's what it seems like. The Magma is happy if it can sustain 90 km/h on flat ground. Uphills are an exercise in frustration, though the dropping note of the struggling engine as the RPMs drop with each metre of hard-earned altitude can be used as an accurate altimeter. However, I am proud to report that it can break 100. Downhill. On a good day. If I haven't had a big breakfast. But hey...speed is not why I bought this thing...it's an absolute blast to cruise around on twisty back roads or for going into town!

Other random junk. I've also started gathering stuff for the upcoming cycling season!

A couple of pink Bontrager bottle cages (they look dead sexy), a Bontrager under-saddle bag (fits basic tools and my camera), Bontrager bike computer (that displays the temperature rather accurately!), Park Tools (ahhh...love those guys!) patches, and perhaps the coolest thing: CO2 tire inflation. The red/white/gold silver thing is an adjustable valve for using CO2 cartridges (same as you'd find in compressed air-powered BB guns) to inflate tires in an emergency. I also got two canisters of CO2 with a mount that lets me attach up to 4 canisters to the frame...no more carrying stupid pumps!

I've been riding my bike to work pretty much every day, and it's an awesome way to kick off my day! Random...how's this for a clash of worlds? (Went shopping and didn't have any more room in my backpack...)

What else? Oh yeah...last month they were holding federal elections in Korea...and people were campaigning everywhere, including most major intersections. They went all out, including these whose truck was outfitted with a gigantic LCD screen, a huge LED display and a concert venue-sized stereo. They were blasting music you could hear literally a block and a half away...at 6:45 a.m. Right next to a MASSIVE apartment complex (we're talking 10 buildings of 12+ floors each). That would be reason enough for me not to vote for them; I can't imagine how many thousands of people they woke up that morning.

What else? Right...my hard-working co-teacher. Asleep at the back of the class. Ugh...so utterly useless. Although, I should give her lazy ass credit, at least she showed up this time. This is, sadly enough, the most she has ever done in class.

Also. Don't mess with pine trees in Korea. I'm serious. Their pinecones are ridiculously strong. This one bent a 1/4" thick steel grate!!!

That's it from me. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back again soon...two more things. Musical suggestion: if you like hard rock with a touch of crazy and a whole lot of originality, check out System of a Down's "Radio / Video"...I've had it on repeat for a week or two.

Finally...a picture...skyscraper in Busan.

Cheerio!
T