So this weekend I went with some friends to Gyeong ju "World cultural heritage city rich in thousand-year-long history and tradition" for a bike tour to look at the cherry blossoms. It's about 4 hours by bus south of Seoul. Our first taste of real warmth in many, many months!
Hannah, Maggie and I left our apartment building at about 5:15 am to meet the group at Express Bus Terminal by 6:15 am. Off on the bus and picked up our rental bikes at the bike shop at around 10:30. There were 3 buses full of people for this trip! The first day we mostly biked around. Didn't stop for photos as much as I would have liked but it was beautiful, and I was pretty proud that I'm a lot more confident on a bike these days! When we arrived at the lake it was so crowded we had to walk our bikes. There were kids and adults alike with rented mini motorcycles and quads (none of which were wearing helmets!) Hmm... safety rules are pretty lax in these parts! We stopped to have some Korean food for lunch. After that we decided to go for a swan paddle boat ride. There were 11 of us on 3 boats and we had a fun time singing and racing and playing paddle boat chicken... or swan? Cheesy joke.
After that we had some dinner and then went back to the hotel. Us 3 girls were almost asleep when we got the call to go for a little get together in our friend's room where we drank a little and played Uno. I raced a friend down the hallway after and lost pretty badly. I never was a runner...
The next day we went for a walk near the hotel and through this park area. Vendors were selling silk worms but I opted for a corn dog instead... though I swear I must try the silk worms before I go. I heard they taste just as you'd expect. Yum?
We then hopped on the bus as went to the beach for a little bit. The warmth was gone as it was overcast. We happened upon some Buddhist ceremonies on the sand and people feeding flocks of seagulls. There were people in tents hitting instruments and chanting while others on the beach were bowing and meditating. After some snacks we headed back to return our bikes and head home. We didn't get back to Seoul until after 10! Long weekend but so fun and beautiful.
3 buses full! Can you find me? Nah...
Hannah in front of Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory "Visitors come and find it full of scientific surprises and mysteries."
View of the park area
wow... I look stunning
The journey begins here... we're already lost. :)
Riding next to Bomunho Lake!
Right after this we were bombarded by a band of boys attempting to talk to us in broken English.
Always fun being a foreigner in Korea!
Swan paddle boats on Bomunho Lake
Michelle and Maggie riding in the back.
Playing some paddle boat chicken!
They kept trying to capture a kiss!
I think we took more photos of each other on the boats than anywhere else... odd!
Look mom no helmets! This was the safest part though. Big and open. Most of the lake path was really narrow with lots of pedestrians to ram into! :)
The Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory (aka the tower) at night.
Day into night.
lost kite
royal tombs
Mr. Red Bean Paste man about to ruin some perfectly good pastries with his monstrous mountain of red bean paste.
Day 2 in the park taking photos!
Just before rubbing her face in the flowers. :) Marvelous.
Maggie, Chad, Anthony, Me, Hannah
Anthony wasn't feeling the 300 jumps.
Where are our instruments?
Steps to the park.
lucky 13
Hannah and Chad. There is a tomb behind them in the rocks.
Hannah telling us about punching waves. Getum!
Amanda, Michelle, Chad, Anthony. I think they are watching Hannah skip stones...
Me and the tomb. So chilly!
The Ajumas 3
Kim (seaweed) vendors
Kim chopper
Buddhist ceremony of some sort. I didn't peek in the tents on the hill next to me and photograph the men making music inside. I really wanted to though...
Some folks feeding the birds. Seagulls seem so out of place after 9 months in Seoul!
The park is a beautiful place with the Cherry blossoms, gardens and trails but the beaches in South Florida look a little more attractive.
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