Jindo Dog Festival & Sea Parting

Inhale for a count of eight. Hold for a count of eight. Exhale for a count of eight. Hold for a count of eight. Repeat three times. Breathe in all of the warmth, sun, beauty and blossoming trees. Spring is upon us 

and so to are the adventures.

Travelled by bus with WinK to the Jundo dog festival and for the sea parting; think in biblical, Moses terms. Though the sea may not have fully parted this year, it was still a gas to go and be a part of it all. We were even acting as the sea in the towns parade!

Despite the quick turn around with an extreme portion of the trip dedicated to travel time, the weekend felt as if it had been a log weekend. Wonderful to get away. Equally wonderful and not wonderful was being around forgeiners all weekend. It was comforting and heart warming to be able to easily communicate with others and know you are all coming from a similar place. However, I didn't appreciate the unconscious eavesdropping or listening to others mundain conversations - not that mine are any better ... ! 

Hard to be back in Korea and back at work. I feel stagnate. It is time to go Home Home. Time for another adventures.

Seoraksan

Took another trip with WinK. LOVE this group! Cannot say enough good things about these people. Took a hike at Seoraksan. It ended up taking Nicole and I 15.5 hours to complete. We barely breaked, though we were cautious in some areas so as not to fall. But hot sweet Jesus that was a long ass hike! 

We had to use ropes at times to scale both up and down some of the ridges. There was even some snow at the top.

We commences the hike at 3:24 am up to Osek. Crazy busy. Had legit traffic jams. Was very neat to turn back and see all the headlamps making their way up the mountain side.

Made it to the highest peak, an elevation difference of over 3,000 feet! It was very misty/foggy which took away from the view. A little disappointing.

Hiked along Dinosaur Ridge - the biggest, most ridiculous part of the hike. It was constantly either up or down. Decent views.

Lost the trail and three Korean men said "follow us," so we did. A few hours with them later, we were told we were in the hardest, rockiest, downward decent. There was 15 minutes until it turns pitch black and we needed to motor down.

I had an out of body experience for the last three hours. I barely noticed te pain my legs and knees were in. Thank god! Nicole was dying. And she is usually the one running ahead. Must be that I have slow twitch muscle fibres ;) 

Oh the kinesiology in me will never die!:)

I am barely stuff from the hike even two days later! Nicole, still dying.

I can now say I did it. Any Korean will be hella impressed too. It's quite a feat. But never will I do that again! Haha

DMZ

Travelled with WinK again this weekend. Such a great tour group! Had Sunny as a guide again to; oh happy day :)

It is chilly and was rainy today. Had to wake up at 5 am. Yuck! Am so tired on the trip. Have seen some very neat things though. 

Walked into the third tunnel a ways. It was a bit tight. And I kept my claustrophobia in check! Win for me:)

Watched a video, saw some museum ing type paraphernalia as well. Very cool and informative day.

So much of what I learned in History 12 makes sense now! Mr. Deluca, you'd be so proud! It would be very neat to teach and be able to take students to areas like this. We may actually learn more/better I think.

Japan VS Korea

Wow! Japan was a whirl wind. The WinK (when in Korea) trip was three days long; really it felt like three weeks with how much travelling we did and all the things we saw and adventures we had.

I hoped in the subway (about 1.5 hrs) after work Tuesday and ended up in Seoul where I met the other WinK travellers. We took a bus to Busan (about  8 hrs). We were in Busan for 10 hrs. We wandered to the beach front which was beautiful. Reminded me of Nica. Also ventured to the fish market and in the streets. Took the ferry to Japan (about 8 hrs).

Saw a shrine and castle our first day. Went to Aso Mountain the next day: a sulfur volcano-type. Hiked that evening with the hostel owner. Went to an onsen (naked, outdoor, hot, mineral, hot spring type). Shopped in Fukoka that night. Bus to ferry in the a.m. (about 3 hrs). Ferry took us back to Busan (about 6 hrs). Bus to Seoul (about 6 hrs). Taxi home, arriving at 130 a.m. Having to teach this day. 

Youwza!

The air was instantly cleaner, clearer and fresher in Japan. Was a great change.

The people were so much friendlier! They didn't stare at you out of judgement and resentment as they do in Korea at times, but out of curiosity.

Their body types are more similar to ours. Koreans are aneorxic. 

Everyone dresses the same - fancy - in Korea. In Japan everyone had their own style.

Was a very different shift.

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA

JAPAN

SHRINE

CASTLE

ASO MOUNTAIN

HIKE

ONSEN

LAST BREAKFAST