Gwangju Weekend ;)

This weekend we headed up to Gwangju for our school seminar (which was held on one of our holidays and none of the teachers was excited to be there...) Apart from 90% of the seminar being in Korean and nothing we said would have any affect any way, it was an ok seminar (please note the sarcasm...) ANYWHO..... We had a free day in Gwangju after the seminar was over. With our coworkers, we spent the evening shopping around downtown Gwangju. We also rode the subway for the first time in Korea. The Gwangju Subway is pretty simple compared to Seoul or Busan, it has one line and its 1200 won per ride (thats about $1)!

Tequilaz

After a couple of hours, our coworkers were getting pretty hungry so we decided to go to Tequilaz, a Mexican restaurant with margaritas! We ordered the steak quesadilla, fajitas, margaritas, and some shots of tequila of course! The food was delicious and it definitely filed the craving for tex mex. 

Gwangju Champions Stadium

Kia Tigers vs. Lotte Giants

Day 2 of our adventure we got tickets to the Kia Tigers baseball game at their brand new stadium! It was my first time to a baseball game and it was awesome! Baseball games here are a lot different from back in the states (or so I've heard). They are a lot more energetic, fun, and a lot cheaper! Seating areas are different with table style seating and a big picnic lawn. Chicken vendors sell fried chicken outside the stadium which you can actually bring in! You can actually bring your own food and drinks which is awesome!

They were also cheerleaders at the baseball game and a mini kpop rap concert. We also got the chance to play with thunder sticks, which lasted for about 2 seconds because the noise was unbearable. All in all, it was a great experience and we will probably come back for another game before the season ends. After the game, we decided to hit up Krispy Kreme! It is strawberry season so they were running a strawberry special which was delicious ;)

** April 12th, 2014: Kia Tigers won 3-0 

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

One of the Spring festivals we were looking forward to was the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival. This is suppose to be the biggest and best cherry blossom festival in Korea for a number of reasons. First, the number of cherry blossom trees on display is quite large. The small city, Jinhae, is known throughout Korea for this specific festival and, as such, it draws an estimated three hundred thousand people per year. Lastly, it is very scenic, with multiple areas that are picture perfect including a stream and an old train station. So with high expectations, we made our way to Jinhae!

Mokpo -> Masan -> Jinhae

After a couple days of planning and trying to figure out the best route to get to the city, we opted for the train which took in total of 6 hours to get to Masan. From Masan we took a taxi into Jinhae. The taxi was about 10,000 won and took us right to the festival without any stops, aside from the traffic (a plus if you are comparing between taking the bus verses the taxi).

Yeojwacheon Stream

Yeojwacheon Stream was our first stop. If you google the name, you will find hundreds of pictures of the stream during the cherry blossom festival. Are the pictures a good reference you ask? Definitely! This place was gorgeous! As you can see, we took around a hundred pictures of just around this area. The stream itself was crystal clear and acted like a flowing mirror, while the pink and white cherry blossoms overhead looked like cotton candy. Speaking of food, there were also several food stalls set up along the stream so we got some corn dogs and potato chips on a stick.

               

Gyeonghwa Station

Our next stop was the Gyeonghwa Station. This train station is no longer operating, but it is one of the famous cherry blossom sites in Jinhae. Cherry blossoms line the whole track up and down. To get from Yeojwacheon Stream to Gyeonghwa Station, we decided to the walk the whole way and see the city on foot. That was sort a good and bad idea since it is a nice city especially with the flowers in bloom, but the station was a little further than we thought! In the end we made it there and took some awesome pictures. There was even a stage train that ran through the station!

After the station it was time to make our way back to Masan to catch our bus back to Mokpo. This was where the headache started! Being the first and main weekend of the festival, as the day went by the already bad traffic, was becoming horrible - like a slow moving parking lot. No taxis wanted to take us, or anyone else for that matter (we watched as groups of girls in short skirts and couples offering to pay over $100 were all equally turned away) so we were just walking around trying to figure out what to do. I spotted one of the buses at a stop light and Alan ran to the door and made sure it was the right one. We hopped on the bus before it stopped at the bus station and it was a good thing we did! The moment the doors opened, a flood of people rushed on to the bus, so much so that the bus driver had to push people out the door off the bus. Although we were crammed and it was standing room only, we were on our way to Masan! Anxiously checking our phone's GPS and watching the clock tick down, we made it to the bus terminal with ten minutes to spare. Another close call, but we had a great trip and it all worked out!

Tips and Recommendations:

* How to get to Jinhae - I would recommend taking a bus to Masan Bus Terminal. From Masan Bus, walk or take a taxi to the Masan train station. From there, take a direct train to Jinhae. With this route, you will not be stuck in traffic, crammed into a bus like sardines, or worst, miss your train/bus and not be able to get home! Make sure you get your tickets before hand so you can be on schedule. You can always take the bus route all the way, but keep in mind everyone will be doing the same thing, and it is a first come first board basis. 

Express bus info www.kobus.co.kr

Intercity bus info www.bustago.or.kr

Korail website www.korail.com

* Buy your tickets early! Which ever route you plan on taking to the festival, make sure you buy your tickets in advance so you can keep your schedule

* Don't forget your camera! 

* Wear comfortable shoes - you will be walking a lot! 

Jindo Sea Parting Festival

Jindo
Ullimsanbang House

Spring has begun in South Korea! Which means the start of festival season! This month we decided to travel to Jindo for the Sea Parting festival. This "miracle" happens only one day each year and is based on the lunar cycle. What basically happens is the tides gets low enough that a walkway is created to the neighboring island. This walkway is about 2 miles long. The catch is you have to be able to walk there and back in one hour! 

For this trip, we went with Lonely Korea, a tour group geared towards foreigners, and would definitely recommend them! The bus picked us up in Mokpo and we started our journey to Jindo. The trip took about an hour or so, but since the sea didn't part until around 4:30pm we had a couple tourist stops along the way. These included Ullimsanbang House and the Jindo Dog Show. 

After the dog show we headed to the festival. Everyone was sporting these thigh high rubber boots (which we had about 10 pairs in our apartment, thanks to previous residents, so we didn't have to buy any!) We had a little while before the parting, so we quickly ate some food, and then donned our rubber boots. Food wise, there was an international food fair setup with different types of cuisine. I opted for the chicken wrap at the Turkish tent, and Alan got the Indian curry and naan. 

Time to make our way to the crossing! There were a lot of people! Most of them were just in the crowd watching and digging for seafood. We had an hour to make it there and back before the tides swallow us into the ocean! We were determined to make it! Treading through the water, our main goal was to not get wet and we succeeded! We did not however make it to the other side in time, though we were close enough to see it. I would say we were 95% to the other side, before we heard the whistle from the police boat. So it was decision time, trek it to the other island and get stranded, or hustle our way back to the main island before the tides swallow us. Obviously we chose the latter and hurried our way back. 

We spotted these little guys on the way back (and Alan's friend Kristin later told us they are called Bat Stars), they were so cool! We also watched a Korean man grab an octopus straight from the sea and eat it right then and there! After making it back to dry land it was time to go to our bus. All in all, a very good day trip!

Tips and Recommendations:

* Buy those ridiculous boots! - The water never went below mid ankle for us and the highest was just a few inches away from the top of the boots. If you don't want to get wet then invest in them!

* Walk fast - Making it to the island may seem possible, but consider the crowds, water current, and stopping for random pictures!

* Pack extra clothes - It is never good to travel home wet!

* Plan your travel - Be sure to arrive before the parting so you can start on time!