"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it."

About a month ago, I had my first visit to Seoul. I arrived late Friday night and my first stop was Itaewon, the foreign/international area of the city. I had 2 shawarmas (hadn't had a good one in about a year since Georgia) and blueberry ice cream. So delicious! Wandering the streets my happiness continued as I spotted a foreign mart. Wow! My eyes couldn't handle it! There were tons of cooking spices, cheese, baking supplies, cereals, peanut butter, hummus, sauces, and much more! I walked out with only Fluff, graham crackers, and some muesli. Quite a feat to limit myself, but I didn't have much room in my bag to be carrying stuff around for 2 days.


Saturday morning I got up super early to catch my bus for the day trip. The weather was ridiculous! It was pouring buckets! After an hour or so into our journey it snowed, now these were not flurries, but giant flakes coming down hard almost sideways! It was sticking all over the place, like a crazy winter wonderland in the middle of April! Thankfully when we arrived at our first stop where we would be going inside, and at that point it was only slightly raining. Whew! Anyway, our first exploration was Gosu Cave.

This is a monstrous limestone cave, "one of the best known in Korea, and known as an "underground palace" because of its breathtaking beauty." True story. Let me tell you. I believe this is the coolest and now my favorite cave I have ever seen/been in. Wow! Some fun facts: it used to be home to prehistoric people, it's 4,264 feet deep, it's inhabited by 25 species of insects and animals, and there are about 120 different stalagmites and stalactites. There are also cave coral, cave pearls, crystals, and in the main chamber there is several majestic 33 ft long stalactites. It was wicked awesome, cool, amazing, stellar, and about 10 other adjectives! So loved it! Inside it started off as a just a walkway, but later turned into a climbing challenge. Stairs ascending high up and then back down into the depths, squeezing through tight rock formations, ducking in tunnels, it was an unforgettable experience.

We had bibimbap for lunch yum! And were off to our next destination. We arrived at a lake where some people would go for a ferry ride and others would hike in the national park surrounding the area. The earlier rain proved to be our friend after all. It created the most excellent view as the clouds weaved in and out of the peaks. It was a really great and intense hike!

Afterward, it was cherry blossom festival time!! I have been wanting to see this for weeks!!  The bright white/pink blossoms are just too pretty! Even though it was still drizzling a bit there was no damper on the festive atmosphere.




Walking through a canopy of blossoms there were countless stalls with snacks, drinks, clothes, and crafts, tents with full tables for BBQ dinners, and a stage with live performers. It was fun zigzagging through all the people, grabbing some yummy treats, and simply marveling at the rows and rows of trees.

That night we arrived back to Seoul and I stayed my second night in a different district. I was in Hongdae area, named after Hongik University, known for "urban arts and indie music culture, clubs and entertainment." Basically the "college town" area. I wandered around the lively streets filled with numerous shops all open past midnight, club music thumping all around, bars, street food vendors galore, bright lights, and people bustling around everywhere.

Sunday morning I awoke bright and early to do some exploring of the city. Map in hand, I hopped on the subway, and was on my way. First,  I passed through a gaint produce market, then stopped at Changdeokgung Palace. Next, I came across a pedestrian street lined with lanterns and cute shops. As I was walking, a local informed me about an outdoor market that happens only once a month outside one of the other palaces, so I headed over there to check it out. It was nice to stroll around there with the fountains, statues and the grand palace in the background! The market had everything: fresh produce,drinks, clothes and shoes, food, and also places to make crafts and watch cultural performances. It was really fun to experience, and what perfect timing! Leaving there, I explored my second palace of the day, Deoksugung. My last stop was a quick lunch of mouth-watering perfect tacos, then it was time to catch my bus home!

"Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen"

I've had some pretty great weekends in April!! :)

The little kindergarteners

5th graders all decked out

some 4th graders

First though, let me tell you about a completely random field trip we had. I was told we were having a picnic. This is what really happened...we went to this really intense safety center which helps shows and teach the kids all about fire safety,and what to do when there's earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, when building collapse, car accidents, elevator issues, you name it, it was there! It was a pretty impressive place!

To begin, we did 2 obstacle courses! There were specific parts related to fire safety and escaping a building, but other areas were just random. We all put on the orange safety suits and did the smaller one first. It wasn't so bad, some climbing, sliding, crawling, etc. The second was down right scary. I am not a big fan of heights so being about 4 stories high crossing on swings and small rope footings was a little intimidating  Talk about confronting your fears in front of the entire school haha. It was quite a day!

A few weeks back on a Friday night I hopped on the train a couple hours north to catch the bus a little outside of Seoul where I met my group around 1 am. We arrived to our sleeping place, Yangdong village around 5 am. This village is a UNESCO world heritage site, and the largest traditional village in Korea. It was an fantastic experience to sleep in the old thatched houses and awake to a world that looked like we'd stepped back in time. It displays the history and culture from the Joseon dynasty. So fascinating!

Saturday morning we ventured to Namsan mountain. This was considered quite a sacred place during the Silla dynasty  This mountain is covered with Buddha statues and carvings, temples, and pagodas.It was such a mystical atmosphere and you could just feel the history around you while hiking up it, not to mention it's filled with beautiful views of valleys and  mountains all around.

Following the hike we spent several hours enjoying the wonderful sunny afternoon biking around the "Rome of Korea," Gyeongju. "Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC-935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. A vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. It is often referred to as "museum without walls." I absolutely love the freedom of exploring a city on a bike. You can go so much farther than walking and at a faster pace, but slow enough to still look at everything and hop off and explore the sites.

The first few stops were incredibly massive royal tombs. We cruised through a giant park filled with kite-flyers, music, gorgeous fields of flowers, and several historical sites such as the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. Some of our other stops included temples, the Bunhwanga pagoda ruin (oldest from the Silla dynasty), and the royal pond garden.

Sunday morning I of course was all for the sunrise trip to the Underwater Tomb of King Munmu.  He gave specific instructions to be buried in the East Sea after his death so that he would become a dragon and protect the kingdom from Japanese invaders.
It was incredibly tranquil. There were several locals with candles lit and offerings already out on the beach praying/waiting for the sunrise. After wandering down the beach a bit, I climbed up some rocks where I perched gazing over the sea, my primo spot for the grand appearance of  Mr. Sun. What a lovely morning! 

Also that morning we had some free time to stroll up the street to explore Bulguksa (Temple of the Buddha Land). It's considered a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla dynasty. It is also home to several national treasures, and is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

This place was so impressive. For one, it is so huge, there's so many parts to it. You keep climbing up and down stairs, through gates and doors just to come to a new areas filled with gorgeous scenery and buildings, Buddha shrines, and my favorite place of all, one completely filled with hundreds and hundreds of cairns. Literally every and any free space from ground to tops of fences and roofs were covered and piled up. It was quite a spectacular site!

Our next destination for the day was the Seokguram Grotto, the representative stone temple of Korea. The grotto represents the spiritual journey into Nirvana. There is a 11 1/2 foot Buddha inside wearing a serene expression of meditation, there are also reliefs of ten disciples and Hindu gods. Just looking at the Buddha's face made me smile and you could just about feel the calmness flowing over you.

We departed this special place, and concluded the trip with a quick lunch back in the city. They left on their bus to go back to Seoul and I waited for mine to go home. It was definitely a weekend to remember!

“Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling"

My venture to my first flower festival was quite a victorious travel day. After taking 3 different buses to what appeared to be the middle of nowhere I finally arrived at my destination: the Gurye Sansuyu Festival. This festival takes place at the base of the breathtaking mountains of a popular national park, Jirisan. Every where you look there are stunning views and yellow sansuyu blossoms (a type of dogwood well-known in Asian traditional medicine, 

also made into liquors, teas, etc.)There was a variety of street foods to try, different fresh teas to sample, live music and parades, crafts and exhibits, and overall a very fun festive atmosphere! I loved it!

The following weekend was the Nonsan Strawberry Festival. Nonsan is Korea's largest strawberry producer. After a couple hour train ride I arrived in this little city to meet up with my group that would be traveling with for the weekend. There are several different groups online that have trips that all types of foreigners(teachers, students, etc) and Koreans alike join for weekend adventures. First, we went strawberry picking. I have honestly never eaten so many strawberries in my life, or strawberries that tasted that good. They are seriously delicious. Every single one is perfect, sweet, and sent from strawberry heaven. It was absolutely impossible to resist eating tons of them while picking! We also got a little container to take with us!
We headed back to the festival for more strawberry treats, live music performances, festival foods, strawberry art and exhibits, a petting zoo, and several vendors of strawberry soaps, juices, jams!

the best ever, seriously ever

The following day we awoke for a breathtaking sunrise hike to an incredible temple, Hyangiram, "one of the four Buddhist hermitages where the faithful come to pray." After an extremely steep incline and countless stairs we reached this enchanted candle-lit temple. It was truly captivating: Buddhist chants echoed through the air, the devoted bowed inside, and the panoramic vista of the the sea awaiting one of the best sunrise views in Korea.

Several moments later, I continued my trek to the peak of the mountain.Upon arriving to the top, we had some time before the sunrise to savor the early morning glow of the ocean, mountains, and islands as far as the eye could see. It was a spectacular morning. After capturing the view from the top I descended back to the temple to marvel at it in the sunlight that peaked through the clouds that morning, sample the pure spring temple water, and meander up tiny paths to other small temples and shrines.  

Later that day, we went to Yeosu. A seaside city host to the 2012 World Expo. We first crossed a walkway along the breakwater out to Odongo Island. This island was carpeted in red camellia flowers. The trees were in full bloom creating an overall gorgeous flowery wonderland. There were also pathways for further exploration on this little island to cliff sides, a cave, and a lighthouse. We had some time to grab lunch in the city before we were off to our final destination of the weekend: the pink azalea mountain.

It was so gorgeous and it felt totally amazing to be doing such an intense hike. My legs were rejoicing with happiness. This particular hike was quite the strenuous one, but so rewarding. Took me back to my New Zealand days for a bit. Afterwards, I felt so accomplished and just great. At the base of the mountain, I separated from the group to go home and made a mad dash to the train station. A truly classic travel moment: running to the station and down the platform to jump on the train. I just love it! The weekend concluded with an enjoyable ride gazing out the window at the country side filled with cherry blossoms and stunning scenery.