My Korean Summer 2013: Day 7, Field Trip Day 2

[DAY 7]

After sleeping in an uber comfortable bed, we had to wake up very early to pack up, check out, and enjoy a Korean breakfast. We had rice, banchan, and a spicy soup that had kimchi, beef, and maybe some fish? I'm not exactly sure what all was it in but it cleared my sinuses quite nicely.

We also finally got to see the spectacular view we were promised upon arrival. The clouds had cleared (at least temporarily).

Next on the itinerary was Mt. Seorak. And of course a torrential downpour started as we pulled up to the cable car station. However, this did not dampen (haha) our spirits! We took the cable car up to the top and proceeded to hike the trail to the peak. It really did have some great views but unfortunately some were obscured by the clouds and fog.

Next stop was Naksansa Temple, we really enjoyed mother nature's continued down pour at this stop. After parking, we walked up a semi-paved dirt path to the entrance of the temple. A monk was there to greet us at the main gate.

Lunch was a dried fish specialty for this region. One of my teaching assistants bought a ton of the stuff at the store next to the restaurant.

Now, we were supposed to go white water rafting after lunch but the river water level had gotten too high from all the rain and the rapids were a little dangerous...so...we settled on zip-lining instead. I personally did not partake in the activity but many of my peers did. They said it was enjoyable. Some other friends and I set up camp at a picnic table with some snacks and beverages. It was fun just to kick back and relax not on the stuffy tour bus.

Dinner was at a rest stop and I must say Korea has the greatest rest stops ever. There are massage chairs, food everywhere, really big bathrooms, convenience stores, other little shops...it's great.

We got back to school early and I went to bed early because I was exhausted!

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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 6, Field Trip Day 1

[DAY 6]

I still want to write about my class but since my field trip is still fresh in my mind I'll pen this down before I forget! It is still monsoon season here in Korea and the rain had no mercy on us the entire trip. I don't think I've seen the sun properly since arriving in the motherland. Anyway, we all met up bright (not really) and early at 7:30AM to depart from school. Three large tour buses gaudily decorated with lace and pinkish curtains greeted us. I'm not sure why all the tour busses in Korea are seemingly decorated by the same person.

It wasn't long before we were off to our first stop on our itinerary: Samyang Ranch and Wind Plant. Apparently a decent number of Korean dramas and movies have been filmed here. We did not have ideal weather for seeing the views on the ranch (windy, cold, wet) but I did get to snap a couple of pictures in our very brief time there (maybe 10 minutes max at the view point).

After getting cold and wet we hopped back into the humid bus to go lunch.

With full stomachs we were off to Ojukheon and Gyeongopdae Pavilion. Unfortunately my pictures and memory have a hard time remembering which is which but here are some pictures of both (?) stops. Again, it was damp and windy. 

The hotel for the night was a brand new building of hotel suites at the DEL PINO resort. We had the option of using the water park/pool facilities or just enjoying the hotel amenities. A friend and I retired to the billiard room for a bit and stopped by the convenience store for ice cream. We later found the arcade and played a few games before having to return to our building for dinner.

Our tasty dinner at our fancy resort accommodations, romanized it is called "Bulgogi Jeongol". It is basically beef in a broth with a bunch of different vegetables. I enjoyed it!

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