Oi Robbo!: Getting around

Was lucky enough to get 2 weeks holidays during the summer so I went for a bit of a travel through parts of Korea. Ended the trip a little shorter than anticipated but 3 nights camping on the ground in weather that doesnt drop below 25 will make one pine for a comfy bed and an air conditioned room. Getting out on the road reminded me how fun travelling is and how it should be done as often as possible. I was a little tepid going into it because I was by myself and still pretty unconfident in communicating with Koreans, but pretty soon those worries were forgotten. Even though I have had the greatest of fun over the past 3 months, nothing really compares to sense of freedom and excitement that travelling brings. Was lucky enough to meet a few people on the way and have places to stay and people to see when I go to Seoul and Jeju, which are basically the 2 best places to visit in the country.

So I started the trip in Geongju, which is the capital of the old Korean Dynasty. In and around Geongju is the largest concentration of temples, shrines, and all that lovely cultural stuff. Have to say that the scale and impressiveness of the Korean artifacts is not quite on the level as Angkor Wat in Cambodia or most things in Europe, but nice nonetheless. Started off in the main temple - Bulgogsa - set at the bottom of a mountain, then went to the top of the mountain to a Buddha shrine. Bulgogsa was pretty cool, the best part though was a painting in one of the small temples, but you cant take photos of it so I was a little peeved. I had a chance to take a pic while the little old lady guarding the temple went to get some water for her pot, but I figured it was bad karma and I would never be able to reach enlightenment. The Buddha shrine was a bit of a let down because you couldnt walk into the grotto where buddha was sitting, instead you had to look from behind a glass door. I went back into town, in need of a shower more than ever in my life. Got back to the hostel and ran into some Yanks and Canadians so we drank the night away on the rooftop. Really fun night with some cool people.

The 2 pogodas (mentioned in a moment) are on either side of this photo. Main temple.

Actual proof I was there - even asked the guy in Korean to take the photo; sa-jin jjik-eo ju-se-yo? All the temples and pagodas are inside here.

These 2 things are called "pagodas"

Next day was a bit of a later wake up than anticipated due to the late night. Got up to rain but decided to soldier on check out the stuff in the downtown area. First was this area where the Ancient Kings and Queens were buried. The coffins were laid and then covered with tonnes and tonnes of soil until they formed hills. This is basically what the Pyramids are, instead the pyramids arent made of dirt. The next thing was an ancient observatory built in 700 AD called Cheomsongdae. Its only about 12 metres high, but is a major artefact in Korean history. Basically it was built to study the stars, but I personally reckon you could "study the stars" much better from the tops of one of the many mountains nearby.

Later that day went to the inland city of Daejeon. Ended up staying for 2 nights, not because there was so much to do, but because it fit in better with getting to the music festival on the weekend. While here I did do some cool things though; firstly, I went to a baseball game. The Hanwha Eagles are the worst team in the league and played like it, but it was still a good game. Saw a Home Run which was cool, and got a real appreciation for what baseballers do, because I havent seen a live game since the days Newcastle had a team. The Korean league is really strong as well - they won the most recent World Baseball challenge - so it was quality baseball. Couldnt believe how fast the pitcher throws that ball and I think the Catcher has by far the most difficult job in the sport - maybe even in any sport. Wasnt bored at all as the game dragged on either which is a little suprising considering I cant watch a baseball game on TV for more than 10 minutes. Was hanging on every pitch, and the thought of either missing a cool play, or catching a foul ball or a home run ensured my eyes were always fixed on the game. The other interesting thing I did was go to a public spa - jim-jil-bang - and it was maybe the most bizarre experience of my life. Actually, I would say it was the most homosexual thing ive ever done without it being homosexual. This made having a group shower after a football or hockey game seem straight. First thing you need to know is that everyone is naked - from 8 to 80 years old. Even then people at the front desk are naked. This jimjilbang was fed by hot springs and there was various pools of varying temperature, outdoor pools and saunas, and you basically just walked from pool to pool starkers. There was no shame from anyone - no one trying to cover themselves or be inconspicuous when inspecting another person. It was downright weird. At times hard to really enjoy yourself. But I soldiered on and had a good time. The worst part though was anything that involded sitting on something - bench or chair - and realising what had been resting on it before hand and how many times that had occurred.

Downtown Daejeon

On the Friday I got myself to Jisan Valley Ski Reosrt for a 3 night music festival. The set up of the festival was really cool - literally in the Valley - so you had the mountains rising up all around you. At the bottom of the main runs, where the chairlifts and the ticketing and food buildings are, there was a massive, massive pool where you could hang out by all day. First time ive seen this at a concert and I must say it was one of the coolest things ive ever seen. The weather was so insanely hot, and the shower lines so increadibly hot, that sitting by the pool and cooling off was a gift from God. The stages were spread between the chairlift area and further up the valley and just provided such a unique and cool setting. The only problem was the festival orientation was narrow and long, not central and condensed, so we had to walk maybe 15 minutes from our camp to the stages, which doesnt seem like much but when you forget something, is a bloody long way to go for it. The organisation of the food, drinks and playing times was great, choice of music excellent, and the general set up and atmosphere really fun. No dickheads causing trouble or generally jacking off, everyone just having fun and enjoying themselves. I feel sorry though for anyone leaving on the Sunday night as the lineup for buses was probably 1,000 people long - and this was for pre-organised buses too! Lucky I had nowhere to be the next day so I could stay the night and leave the next morning. Walking up and down that line all I could hear from stressed and worried people on their phones was "I have summer camp at 9 in the morning!!". There was a problem with camping another night and that was actually camping. The weather never got below 25 even in the middle of the night, so that meant the tent never got below 45. I slept in my underpants with nothing on top of me (on the ground to by the way) and couldnt make it further than 8am on any morning, even though I would have slept for less than 4 hours. Basically, every moment of the festival was great, except for the times I was in the tent.