Andong Adventure!

This weekend we made out first trip to the historic city of Andong where some of our friends live - Kate from South Africa and Katy and Danny from Colorado. After a 2 hour, windy bus journey we arrived at Andong Bus Terminal and went in search of breakfast. The best we could find (and we didn't try very hard to be honest) was Dunkin Donuts. Well, it was the weekend after all so we tucked into donuts and coffee. Corey had a rather dry guy doughnut and was not happy.

It was a dry guy alright, but she did manage to eat most of it.

We met up with Kate and her Korean friend, Dana. Not long after, Matt and Adalet also arrived from Gumi so we headed up to meet with Katy and Danny at their place. Once the bags were dropped off, we had a very jealous nosey around their apartment (large, with a bedroom, dining table, 2 sofas - the list goes on) we headed back downtown for some lunch and to do some shopping. We sampled some Korean street food, mainly tteokbokki (a spicy ricecake stew) and some seafood. The girls went shopping and the boys went to play pool!

Garry, Corey, Paul and Matt eating street food.

Not really sure what you would put in here.........

We met up with some other Andongians and all went for 'shabu shabu'. This was my first time eating shabu shabu so I was slightly nervous but I loved it. Firstly, you cook some beef strips in some spicy red stew in a large pan in the centre of the table and have that with some side dishes. When this is finished, you get cooked rice and dry it up with the remaining sauce to make some super tasty rice. Washed down with some beer and its a damn fine meal.

Meat before its cooked in the big pot in the middle.

Adalet, Corey, Me, Katy, Danny and Paul enjoying shabu shabu.

Cheeky!

Kate, Sheena, Matt and Ramy enjoying their shabu shabu.

Corey, Paul and Matt did not have a bed for the night so we spent some time browsing local hotels to find a cheap bed for them. Now, in Korea, there are normal hotels and love motels. Love motels are generally a lot more modern and have great amenities and are cheap but you will find business cards all around the place advertising Korean girls and it all feels a bit seedy. Apparently, they are used both by young Korean couples who live at home with their parents and business men with their lady friends. Anyway, we found them a 'nice' hotel downtown and headed out for drinks.

Cards posted in the hall at a love motel.

And it was off to a Western bar in the new town area of Andong, complete with Red Indian wooden statues outside and millions of bottle stuck in the roof and walls lit up by lights. You also get a very tall beaker of beer with its own tap at the bottom so you can pour your own pints at your table. Genius.

Bottles for decorating.

Pour your own beer.

However, it was not to be a late night as we had a 5K to run in the morning at 9am. Koreans love to exercise and on any given weekend in Korea, there will be Koreans running 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and marathons. So, we all gathered at 8.30am at the race track and were surprised by the number of people and preparation they had gone to. You even walked into the track with a live band playing 'Eye of the Tiger'. It doesn't get much better than that.

Arriving to 'Eye of the Tiger'.

A rather excited/hungover bunch who stayed out later than we did.

Obviously the cape assists with running speed but am sure you are disqualified if your feet leave the ground.

Prior to the race, there is an en- mass warm up session and we were the star attractions! A group of Koreans next to us were so impressed that Westerners can run (i.e. we are not all fat and lazy) that they kept getting their photos taken next to us and wanting to join us. Matt was a particular favourite and when to race time, he was dragged off to the front by a crazy Korean lady. And it worked, he came in 9th place in the 5k finishing in 19 minutes! Not bad for someone who was severely hungover. I did not too bad, especially as I had not been running for 6 months, and completed the race in 27 minutes.

Warming up with out Korean ladyfriend in the blue trousers.

Getting into the spirit.

Westerners and Koreans unite for running!

Me and this Korean guy who would not let me run past him and said we had to finish together.

First place! Hhhhmm, maybe not but at least I finished.

After the race there was a huge area of free food, BBQs were set up and people crowded round them tucking into the tasty treats. And our friendly Korean omma (mum) was quick at hand, bring us plates of food and even feeding us with chopsticks. She was amazing!

BBQ food, yum yum yum.

Our Korean mum who would not stop feeding us little morsels of meat. Sheils, you have competition.

The cuteness of Korean kids never fails to make my heart melt. Twins in matching pink fluffy coats being fed noodles on chopsticks by their parents.

Danny and his new friends.

In the afternoon, we explored around Andong fish market and ate some Jimdak (spicy chicken stew with potatoes, carrots and rice noodles) which is now my second favourite Korean food. It was in a cool little upstairs Korean restaurant and we got a little room all to ourselves. There was graffiti written all over the walls, even some in English.

Octopus.

Jimdak restaurant.

Grafiti on the wall in the Jimdak restaurant.

But the good times had to come to an end and we trooped back to the bus station for the long ride home.

NB. Andong was where I saw my first 'dog' restaurant and there appeared to be quite a few in the area surrounding Katy and Danny's flat. This is quite common in Korea, unlike the UK, to have all restaurants/shops/cafes of one kind in the same area. They feel that they are more likely to get business and share business if they are all together. Anyway, eating dog is still practiced in Korea but fewer and fewer people are proud of this and many young people do not like this practice.

Dog and Goat restaurant. Yuck.

My favourite Korean food - Sam Gyup Sal

I have finally found some Korean food that I LOVE! We went out for dinner with our friends Corey and Paul this week, bumped into another EPIK teacher called Ben from South Afria and we all headed downtown for some tasty Sam Gyup Sal. We found a great little restaurant just off 5th St (the main pedestrian area) and set about cooking our dinner.

Sam gyup sal = three stripe bacon

Tasty little blighters cooking away.

So, sam gyup sal is basically really thick rashers of streaky bacon - you sit around a round table and in the middle is some form of cooking plate (this one has a flat plate but some are griddles over a bucket of hot coals). You get your bacon along with various other veggies including lettuce leaves, spicy green onions, garlic cloves, chillis, bean sprouts and anything else they feel like serving. Oh, and of course, kimchi. You cook your bacon and as it cooks you cut it in thin little slices across the grain leaving bite size pieces of delicious meat! Then you take a lettuce leaf in the plam of your hand, put some bacon in (dipped in spicy red sauce if you like), put in some onions, garlic and chilli, fold it all together and then stuff it in your mouth. Amazing.

Happy campers munching away with all our dishes

And its really cheap, costing only about 5,000 Won per person (£2.50). You get served mineral water for free or beers which are about £1.50 for a big bottle. Can you see why I like it?

Empty dishes = great meal!

Bogyeonsa Temple and Naeyeonsan Waterfalls

After talking about this trip for weeks, we finally got a nice sunny day and decided to travel to our first Buddhist Temple in South Korea. About an hour bus journey from Pohang is Bogyeonsa Buddhist Temple which is set in the forest at Mt Jungnamsan with Naeyeonsan waterfalls which flow up beside the temple.

So, I researched online that we needed to get bus 500 from the Intercity Bus Terminal and take it as far as it goes to Bogyeonsa. We met Corey and Paul at the station at 10am and hopped on bus number 500. However, it was only after we got on that we realised we did not know which side of the road we should have caught the bus from and so asked the bus driver. He immediately signaled to the opposite side of the road but by this time we were moving. He gestured for us to sit down and intimated that the bus would soon turn around and we could go back the way we came. After 15 minutes, we got a bit anxious as we turned into a bus depot and the bus parked. The driver shepherded us into the "staff office" and told us to wait. So, we waited. A cleaner lady came and went and we waited. There was a weird yellow plastic pig sitting on top of the TV which had one eye upside down. We knew not the significance of this but it amused us.

Squint-eyed pig.

I saw a bus 500 pulling out the of station and, thinking that the driver had forgotten about us, we all ran for the bus. The driver quickly chased us and told us to get back to the terminal - that bus did not got to Bogyeonsa apparently. Our faith in him was fulfilled however as a few minutes later he signalled for us to get on another 500 and it did indeed take us to our destination!

Map of the 12 waterfalls and the Buddhist Temple (bottom right hand corner marked by what looks like a Nazi symbol but is in fact a Buddhist symbol)

When we arrived at Bogyeonsa (after Corey having to rush to the loo), we were all a bit hungry so decided to have some lunch. There were a few Korean restaurants so we chose one and ordered by pointing at pictures. Garry and Paul had bibimbap, Corey and me shared some Korean spicy beancurd and veggie soup with rice. We also got some Korean pancake which is delicious and the usual assortment of side dishes.

Lunch - the large circular yellow plate is the Korean pancake made from a dough and green onions, very tasty.

Penis juice - no idea what it actually is but really? A ceramic penis you can take home after you have finished your juice. A little old school perhaps.

Bellies full, we set of up to the temple and spent some time exploring. It was a beautiful little temple and so quiet set in the mountains. We started our walk up the 12 waterfalls and about an hour and a half later reached where we thought was the top - however, after consulting the map we think we only got about half way! Oh well, some of the waterfalls were amazing and it was really nice to be out in the countryside seeing some of the real Korea. Garry and Paul were trying to outdo each other in manliness and kept trying to get the closest to the top of the waterfall - without falling over.

Entrance to the Temple and path to the waterfalls.

Buddhist artwork painted on the outside of the Temple.

Buddhist art work painted on the wooden Temple.

Buddhist wooden statue inside the gates of the temple protecting the inhabitants.

Buddhist lanterns hanging around the temple in various colours.

The notes attached to the lanterns are prayers and wishes.

Golden Buddha statue inside one of the temples for prayer.

Bells that hang on many of the corners of the temples.

Door knocker and wooden door.

View from the top of the grounds around the temple.

Waterfalls!

Me.

Me hanging around a sign that probably says "Don't stand here, its not safe".

Baby waterfalls.

Japanese writing on a large rock by the side of the waterfalls.

Big waterfall!

Flowing water.

Aw, us at the top of the waterfall.

Me under a crashing waterfall.

Posing and getting wet.

Paul climbing up the side of the waterfall.

View from the top of the waterfall.

Garry and Paul playing chicken at the top of the waterfall.

Corey and me climbing down the hillside with only a rope for grip! EEK!

We walked back down and caught the last bus at 5pm back to Pohang. And, once again, we headed downtown to munch on sam gyup sal - we went to a different place this time and feasted liked kings for a pittance!

Tired faces, full bellies.

All in all, a fab day in SoKo with some great friends, great food and beautiful countryside.