Changwan and Busan

As I mentioned in my post about Buddha's Birthday, Trev and I took a trip to see Nick and Sara in Changwan last Friday. We spent the night in Changwan, where we had a REAL hamburger and REAL potato wedge fries for dinner. This was really great because we can't get REAL hamburgers and fries like that in Iksan... and I think that is one of the meals I am really missing the most from home. So that meal alone, made my entire weekend right then, haha. We had a few drinks then watched a movie at a DVD bong. Same idea as a noribong (karaoke room), except you watch a movie, of your choice. It's almost like renting a living room with a big and comfy couch, to watch the movie you just rented, with all your friends.

The next day, we were off to Busan. We hiked up to see Beomosa temple (see Buddha's birthday posting below) and then began our night out in Busan.

After hiking and temple seeing, we went back to our Arabian-style, round bed, love motel, got changed and went for some Kalbi, maekchu (beer), and Soju for dinner. The four of us were starving, hiking 4km will do that to you, so none of us were too picky about where to eat, we just wanted something good!!! We found a restaurant (Korean BBQ) and quickly made sure they had Kalbi (a type of marinated pork). We ordered our meal along with some beer and Soju, which helped to start off our night. After eating we headed out to find a bar for the night. We ended up at a bar called Crossroads. We stayed there for a few beers and then moved on. On our journey's we ran into some real live Soju bottles... hahah and we all had a little meet and greet with them.

After wards, we ended up at a Makkoli bar. Makkoli is like a rice wine that is served ice cold. They serve it in a tin kettle. Not really thinking, we ordered 2 . We really didn't need 2!! haha... It has a real wine-ish taste to it, but looks kinda like watery milk, and is very strong!!
We all made an effort to drink it, but Trev really didn't like it too much. Sara, Nick and myself made the biggest dent in the one kettle, but even still we couldn't finish it.

We all really made big efforts ....

The next day, we headed to the beach!!! In Busan, Haenudae Beach is the nicest and most popular beach in Korea. And let me tell you... It's easy to see why.

Haeundae Beach

It was absolutely beautiful!!! The water was blue, the sand was white, and the weather was perfect for a day at the beach. Because I burn so easily, I am usually not really big on being at the beach, but once we got there, I couldn't resist. It didn't take long before we were all stretched out on the beach tanning and relaxing!!
After relaxing for a bit, Trev and I walked over along the boardwalk and it was even more beautiful...

On our way up some rocks, we were stopped by some old Korean women selling sung pyun(a type of rice cake) and roasted chestnuts, insisted on taking my camera and taking some pictures of Trev and I. So not wanting to be rude, we said 'OK'. Below is one of the pictures they took.

Right after, they began putting some rice cakes and roasted chestnuts in a bag for us and saying it will cast 10 000won. 5 000won for each woman!!! We were a little shocked and tried to say "No thanks" but they wouldn't really take no for an answer. So they took two photos of us, which ended up costing us 5000won each... haha... We didn't really want the snacks, but they ended up being pretty tasty. I just thought I should show one of the pictures that cost us 5000won to take with my own camera.

Once we made it past that point we saw this beautiful mermaid sitting amongst the rocks. Now how many people can say that?
We made it up to the tip of the boardwalk where there was a small lighthouse. There was an amazing view from that point. This bridge looked unreal almost, as it was just such a nice sight.We left the beach around 3ish in hopes to catch a train and be back in Iksan at a decent time, but this time of year seems to be very popular for traveling, and we weren't able to get a train until 7:20. We had to transfer trains, and wait an hour at the transfer, and we didn't get home until about 11:30 that night. Although we were pretty tired from the weekend and were looking forward to our beds, after seeing how beautiful Changwan and Busan was, I think deep down we weren't really that eager to leave it all.

The EXTREME Weekend!!!

Two weekends ago (I apologize for the lateness and lack of blogging once again) Trev and I had a weekend of Paint ball, White Water rafting and Yes... BUNGEE JUMPING!!!

With a group of about 40-45 people, we took a bus for about 6-7 hours up to Inje, which is North of Iksan, about an hour or two from the North Korean border. Before we even got to the place we would be staying the night, we stopped and had a game of paint ball, my first time ever!! It was... well interesting.

We all got suited up, made our teams and were told the rules. We were playing outside in an actual forest area, not really big, but a decent size. There were no paths cleared out just trees, bushes, branches, dirt, mud, typical forest. At first I was really nervous, not really having that fighting instinct in me, as you all know, so for the first little while I just stayed close to Trevor. But then, he got shot! I was alone!!In the woods!! I was more worried about not finding my way out then I was about getting shot. However, I managed to meet up with some teammates and even took a few shots at the other team. That first round I managed to stay alive!! The second round, I wasn't so lucky. I got shot, twice!! The first shot was in my leg, and as I looked down (split second) I got hit again... Right on the knuckle!!! It hurt A LOT!! I shouted out "I'm Hit!!" and had to find my way back to the start. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, thanks to my great sense of direction, but I found my way out!!!

The gear...

Afterwards we headed over to our cottage-like motel where a Korean BBQ dinner was waiting for us. The rooms at this place were all ondul style, which is where everyone sleeps on the floor. Its literally a room with a big floor space and a bathroom. So we had 5 rooms for about 43 people, needless to say, these rooms weren't huge and it was a bit of a tight squeeze. I woke up a few times with feet on my feet, and I had to try to squirm a little to get some more room, but it was ok. We managed to sleep.

The Motel

The next morning, we went White water rafting!!! SOOOOOO much fun!!!! I would highly recommend trying this for anyone who hasn't done so already!!! I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but once we got going, it was really fun!!!

The group

Next... Yup that's right... BUNGEE JUMPING!!!! and yes I DID IT!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't going to do it, but I knew I would regret it, if I didn't. It was really quick, but Really Really fun!! An amazing experience!!! Trevor did it too... We both really liked it, but because it was so windy that day, everyone used the body harness, rather then the foot harness, and this body harness gave the worst wedgie ever!!!! After we were unhooked we both had sore tail bones for a bit.

The actual Bungee Jump

All Suited upI'm next...
Here I go...

Unfortunately, the person who was suppose to be taking a video of me from below, didn't. Trevor tried to take one, from the line up, (he was waiting to go still) but my camera was full and the video stopped just as I jumped. But the place that we did it at, took pictures and put them on their website www.injejump.com.kr Here are a few mid-jump shots of both of us:

We also got certificates for doing it too!! SOOO amazing!!!! Overall, a great Weekend!!!

Happy 2551st Birthday Buddha!!!

Today is May 24th and its Buddha's Birthday!! Which is a holiday for everyone here.

I read on Wikipedia that in Korea, Buddha's birthday is celebrated according to the Chinese calendar (I think it's celebrated on different days in different countries across Asia). The day is called 'Bucheonim osin nal' which means "the day when Buddha arrived". To celebrate, there are beautiful lanterns placed all along the streets and even more beautiful lanterns hung all over temples. Some temples even provide tea and meals for visitors.

Last weekend Trev and I went to visit Nick (Trev's friend from home) and his girlfriend Sara, in Changwan. We hung out there Friday night and then took a bus to Busan Saturday morning. Busan is at the southern end of Korea and is the second biggest city. While we were there, we went to Beomosa Temple, which is by far one of the most beautiful temples I've seen in Korea this far. It was at the top of a mountain, which we hiked up the whole way (approx. 4km) and had amazing views and beautifully structured and decorated temples. When we were there we saw people dressed in Hanbok (Traditional Korean clothing) practicing for, what I can only assume, today, Buddha's Birthday ceremony. There were big beautiful lanterns hung all over the temple too.