Temple with a View

This view is from a temple that was perched high on the side of a mountain not too far from Hadabuji's house. After a quick visit, we drove to the ocean for a seafood lunch. It was very fresh. How fresh? Well, these are the fish tanks outside the restaurant.

Hadabuji

We spent four days with Hadabuji at his home in a rural town called Jangheung. We had beautiful weather the entire time. We saw Brian's grandmother, great aunts, uncles, cousins other relatives and family friends.


It was a very relaxing visit punctuated by a variety of sight-seeing expeditions with Hadabuji. We saw all the favorite sites: the green tea farm, the "god dam" dam, the Buddhist temples, and the ocean.

KTX to Seoul

We met Brian's cousin Kyun at a Starbucks around noon where we chatted for a little while before he took us to the Train Station. He brought a box of Krispy Cream Donuts with him which was very nice. We had a fun conversation with him there over the donuts and some green tea lattes. At the train station he helped us to find our seats and we were off for Jangheung! The trip was only about 2 and half hours. The KTX train is very luxurious. It's extremely clean and has good bathrooms, vending machines and tv's. The scenery out the window was a series of small towns and rice patties - all very green. We got off at Gwangju where Brian's Great Aunt and Uncle met us. I always get a very warm reception from his Aunt who they call Gwangju (name of the town) Gomo (aunt). I don't think Brian knows her first name. It was warm and sunny there.
First things first, we were treated to a scrumptious meal at a Korean BBQ restaurant (Bulgolgi). You sit on the floor around a low table and the waitress arranges about 30 small plates on that table. The dishes range from various spicy vegetable preparations to all types of condiments (including several types of kimchi) and a plate of lettuce leaves for making wraps. Then a mini grill is set on the table on which marinated beef or pork, mushrooms and garlic cloves are sauteed. You are given metal chopsticks and you can mix and match the dishes as you like... my favorite is to fill a lettuce leaf with a little bbq beef, white rice, mushrooms and spicy sauce. The meal was followed with a sweet cinnamon drink and sliced watermelon.
Next stop was a mall electronics department to buy a camera lens.
Funny story - Brian brought a big zoom lens, and only a zoom lens, for the trip. This was the first trip with our new Nikon. Well, we realized that it was too much zoom as soon as we tried to take a portrait shot. The only way you could get the person in the frame was to step back twenty feet. What do you do if you're in a room that isn't 20 feet long? So, it was necessary to buy a second lens.
While we bought the lens, Gwangju Aunt bought a watermelon or "soubak" in Korean. Watermelon is the go to fruit in Korea. We had it for breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, and before and after dinner. I don't know why...
After the Gwangju watermelon and camera lens errands, we drove to Jangehung. Brian took this pic on the way. The view was very scenic.

Tous Les Jours

Shops started to open up around mid-morning. We were hungry again so we got a ham and cheese sandwich and a pastry at a cafe/bakery called "Tous Les Jours". There are places like this all over Seoul. On the first floor, you pick up your tray, grab a set of tongs and then select your food. There are pastries and sandwiches both sweet and savory but they're always glazed with a sweet egg wash - I think its just to seal them and make them look shiny. After you pay for your food you take it upstairs to eat. Sometimes there are three floors of seating above the first. There are lot of coffee icecream shops like this too.

The photo is another one from the canal. Brian took it through the trees which I think is funny.

Seoul First Morning

After our light breakfast we walked around the city for a couple of hours. There were a lot of tents and event stalls being set up for the Spring Festival. We missed it since we only had a few hours in Seoul before going to Jangheung. This picture was taken on a bridge over the canal which runs through the city. The canal was dressed up with lanterns and sculptures for the festival.

Angel-In-Us Cafe

It felt so good to finally get some sleep last night. We woke up early though at 6:30am which means we only got about 6 hours of sleep but it was enough. This morning, while I was getting ready in the hotel room, Brian went to the top floor to use the public bath. When he came back he looked revitalized and relaxed. Public baths are a common amenity here - its basically a spa with communal hot baths. I didn't go up there but it looked very posh in the brochure. After that we went out for a walk and to find some breakfast. It was actually very cool out - probably in the 60s. We found a cute coffee shop, similar to Starbucks, called Angel In Us Cafe. The food is so cheap here! We got a coffee + warm croissant combo for just a couple bucks. It was a really delicious cup of coffee and a perfectly crusty croissant! Brian took this picture of me looking out the window of that cafe.

View from the Hotel Ibis, Seoul

Taken from an email I wrote that day:

I'm writing from a computer at the Ibis Hotel in Seoul. We checked in a few hours ago and then went out to get something to eat. Now we are back at the hotel. It's 12:30am. I am very tired I'm realizing because it is hard to make my fingers type and to focus on the screen. We have been up for almost 30 hrs. I slept a total of about 2 hours during all of the travel. We spent 21 hours just traveling! The first flight was delayed, and in San Francisco we sat on the runway for 2 hours, but our flight was good. We watched the Golden Compass. We had a short layover in Japan because we were late getting in. Then a two hour flight to Incheon Airport, S. Korea. We got a bus right away that took us into Seoul in the neighborhood where our hotel is and then we took a cab to our hotel because we didn't know how to find it. It's a realy nice hotel. Clean and modern and stylish. Our room has a really great view of the city. We can see Seoul tower. We just ate some late night Korean food - Kimchi, rice, dumplings. Most of the stores are closed now and we are tired so we are going to bed. In the morning we are going to meet Brian's cousin who will take us to the KTX train that will take us to the town where his grandpa (Hadabuji) lives.