Road trip 도로 여행

In short, the road trip was a blast!

In long:

The traffic is insane. Our initial lap of the journey was supposed to take about 2.5 hours, but because of the city traffic, and highway traffic we crawled along and didn't get to Jeonju until 2:00 pm, a six-hour trip. And it rained the whole day. 

There are rest-stops on the highway, but they are larger and always crowded. Koreans love taking trips in groups. From small groups of 4-6 to bus loads. And those buses were slamming the rest stop bathrooms with mobs of little ladies all dressed in the same hot pink jacket. Somehow I got pushed to the left and forcibly moved along, away from Jane. I considered body-surfing back across to her, but feared I would be wrapped in a pink jacket, stowed on a bus and never seen again. Then I remembered I was the tallest person there(by at least 6 inches), so I just parted the pink sea and got through it.

I spared his arm, also the tiny shrimp

In Jeonju we did get to try some local cuisine, kongnamul gookbap it's a bean sprout and rice soup, and you eat it with this egg on the side. And of course some kimchi! I was rebellious and dumped my egg into my soup so it could cook a little more. 

We also had a warm drink called moju. It's made by boiling makgeolli (rice wine) with medicinal herbs like jujube, ginger, licorice root, arrowroot, cinnamon, and gingseng. It is tasty and has a very low alcohol content, only 1.5%.

This little place was so cozy, and the ladies working were all so nice. One lady was just cracking eggs into the bowls, non-stop. See the stacked trays of little bowls of egg?

People in Jeonju seemed more relaxed, and friendlier than in Seoul. We liked that.

On our way out we grabbed some of this toasted barley and they ran and got us a bag to fill. We ate it the rest of the weekend! mmm

Next to Jeonju Hanok village, an area of the city that contains traditional houses and shops. We walked around and looked in the little shops. It was so cold, and still rainy, so we decided some hot tea was the answer. 

Julie (we gave Jieun an American name!) found this cozy place that serves fermented tea they make locally. The little house was adorable, and warm.

time for tea

see the tiny doorway to the next room?

She brought us the tea, and explained the process. 

First, pour some hot water over the pot, which already has the tea leaves inside. This warms it all up. 

 Next, remove the lid and fill the pot with hot water.
Replace the lid and immediately pour the pot into the glass carafe.
The tea brews that fast, so you don't need to let it sit.

The glass carafe is filled after a couple teapot-pours, so we can sip that until we're ready to brew some more. It was so smooth and delicious! And healthy.

 And some little crackers that were also super healthy, and not that flavorful, but somehow addictive.

This place is owned by a couple, but they didn't want their picture taken. They looked so peaceful and calm, and they were wearing a traditional garb that looked as comfortable as pajamas.

But, we weren't done driving yet! We got back in the car and headed for Busan. At least at night there wasn't anymore traffic! It still took a couple hours, and we got to the city after midnight. 

Busan is a nice, ritzy city right on the beach. Where are three ladies on a budget supposed to stay? (as we drive past the fancy Trump buildings) Easy - a bath house spa! For a cool $10 you get to use the spa and sleep on the floor. Everyone does it. Especially families. This spa was packed!
(obviously no pictures from here, but this is the TripAdvisor page where we stayed, it has a couple views)

Jane had warned me about this ironic piece of Korean culture. As modest as Koreans are, it is so normal to go to the bath house and scrub down. It's what you do with your family, with your friends, with business partners, with people you've just met. It's bonding time. There are separate large shower areas for men and women, and then a common area with saunas and steam rooms.

There's a sit down station to really exfoliate and wash, a shower area, another area with high-pressure massaging showers, and  hot baths to sit in too.

Once we were sparkling clean we put on our provided t-shirt and shorts "spa clothes" and went upstairs to the sauna. There were people all over the floors sleeping! It was so strange. We sneaked into the rock room, it's walls are made of rose quartz bricks, and the floor covered in quartz rocks. It was so pretty since the room was dark but had a pretty pink glow. We laid down, our backs onto the hot rocks (there are wood blocks to rest our heads on) and just cooked.

Yangguibi

After we were baked we decided it was time to sleep. Finding a spot to sleep was tricky. The floors are heated so it's warm enough (they even provide little pillows and blankets!) But some rooms were too warm and other places people are talking or worse, snoring! Triumphantly I remembered I always keep earplugs in my travel case, and after that we were all able to asleep for a few hours. I was eventually awakened by an unknown, unwelcome pair of feet in my face, and that was enough. I'm up. Ugh, not the best night of sleep, but at least we get to sit in the sauna again! We hit the mud-room sauna this time. Then back to the showers. It's actually cute to see grandma down to little babies just going to town.

room with a view

In the morning we could see out the windows from the shower room, the view was beautiful! Over-looking the beach and sea. It was really nice to sit in the hot tub and just enjoy the view! (all of them, hehehe)

look closely, you can see our spa from here

At least Sunday was a really pretty, sunny day! The city was so bright and pretty. We had some lunch, and walked on the beach. It's a popular place, and I saw lots of Americans around. During the Summer the beaches are packed.

oh there

will be

cartwheels

Next we drove along the coast to the nearby Taejongdae Mountain park. Along the way we crossed this pretty bridge, and passed these large cranes in the shipyard. Evidently its a big port city, lots of cargo.

spot Keri and Julie

At Taejongdae Mountain we took a little hike (about 20 mins) up the paved path and there is a lighthouse and a gorgeous overlook.









It was a nice walk, it felt good to be among the flowers and trees again! This is the view from the path about halfway. It was neat to see all of the ships.

spot Keri

I'm in here too!

At the lighthouse there are lots of steps!! (I was a bit scared, mostly of tripping down the steps) And we explored the cliffs. The rocks were so pretty, with a green stripe.

It was thrilling to be sitting at edge. I had to talk Jane out of diving in for a swim. And Jane pointed out the little crashing wave at the bottom point on the rock, and I was induced into spontaneous poetry:

Waves, waves, all around
I hear your soothing sound
Crashing onto the rocks
We forgot to wear our socks

the guy in red is asking me if I'm scared

nope

More steps! Keep going down ...

and down ...

And down a little further were all these ladies working. I didn't think too much of it, but Jane pointed out they are making sushi. Right here on this mountain cliff overlooking the sea, they have live seafood, and they will slice it up right in front of you and serve you on a little platform dangling above the rocks and water. Even I had to try that!

mermaids?

It was really neat sitting on that platform and taking in the whole experience, eating the flounder that just five minutes prior I had seen flopping around in the bowl, then in a few quick motions, tragically brought to an end on piled onto our plate. I was stunned. She was so fast.

Don't be fooled, I'm not converted. I knew my limits, I didn't reach for the orange or brown slimy guys, kept to the fish. Even then just a couple bites were enough.

at least there was lettuce

Jane said it was a dream come true for her, to be eating her favorite fresh seafood by the sea like that.
Me too. ;)

Conveniently they have a boat that comes to this little spot and takes you the scenic route back to the beginning.
It was super cold, but scenic, I suppose. The music was corny, but we danced just the same since it was in Korean and I didn't know any better.


The sun setting was pretty too.

On the shore it was one tent after another with the same idea, fresh seafood they will cut up right in front of you. Poor little animals, I even saw some octopus, which are my favorite to NOT eat. They're cute.

I've got skills

Another first for me was the odd-looking toilet at the park bathroom. Perhaps some people still prefer the squat toilet, as it's modernly installed and used. One side of the restroom had these, while the other had regular commodes. I didn't see the sign on the door as I rushed in! haha

Next Jane and Julie felt I needed to experience a Korean fish market. Yes, I definitely did ... not need to see more sealife crowded into tanks awaiting their consumers. Haha it did reinforce the Korean love of seafood. LOVE. You could purchase and take it home, or just let them cook it up for you. I saw some enormous crabs and lobster, as well as so many smaller creatures I haven't seen before. And probably my least favorite was the eels, yes in tanks, but also the already skinned eels writhing around in a bowl by the seats in order to entice you in for a meal. Really??

At one point I think the distressed phrase "Why did you bring me here?!" slipped out. Exactly.

We did manage to find some streets not lined with seafood, and had some dinner before we left. One tent had "cookies" of taffy and they press a shape into it. It's a nostalgic thing, since its common for kids to get them and try to cut out the shape without cracking it. Mine was a bunny. I used the pin and got halfway but it all snapped. It tasted good, made me think of maple sugar candy. If you get the shape out, they give you another one for free. The couple next to us was on their third one!

We still had a long drive home, about 4 hours! We were all really sleepy by then, but Jane is a beast and drove the whole way home. I slept, I'm a wimp. I wanted to be back in the toasty warm sauna .... aahhh