Down the Mountain We Go

Channeling Tarzan

This past weekend was probably one of the best weekends I've had since being in Korea. It all started with getting to see an old friend from Etown who just moved to Korea to teach. 

Saturday we went to the 2nd Annual Expat Festival, which wasn't really a festival, but rather just a soccer game. Festival or not, it was a good game despite the fact the FC Seoul won 4 to 1. I guess scoring in the first 5 minutes was a good indicator of what was to come. Although next time I want to sit with the FC Seoul fans and not the other expats. They looked a million times more excited to be there and had dances and cheers for everything. Lesson learned!

 Afterwards, we went to Hongdae and chilled out. We grabbed some much missed Taco Bell and bought Louie his super cool skeleton and superman Halloween costumes. Which one he'll be remains undetermined at this point. Guess you'll have to wait and see...

 We ended the evening at GR8, a hooka bar tucked away in the streets of Hongdae. I've got to say, I'm not much of a hooka fan, but I did really like this place. It was very chill and relaxing. (Minus the drunk foreigners that knocked over a candle and lit their table on fire.) 

Sunday was by far the best day of the weekend. Thanks to my friend for putting everything together, we channeled our inner Tarzan and ziplined in the mountains of Mungyeong. The zipline course is 9 lines that are all different. Some lines you lay out like your dead, some you curl into a ball, and others you play darts while on the go. Luckily, we had a good group of people. Although I think they thought we were a little crazy and not being able to understand the directions didn't help. 

Afterwards, we went down the road to an old railroad that's been converted into bikes for fun. They were a little slow paced for me personally and I think the dad and small children in front of us wished we weren't there at all. While not paying attention because of some on our bike yelling at cars driving by, we didn't brake in time and had a tiny accident. After a long day, it felt good to get home and reacquaint myself with my old friend, my bed.

Video proof is on it's way! Stay tuned...

Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae

Good Company, Chuseok, & Caribbean Bay

Last week was Chuseok, or Thanksgiving for those back home.  It's now my favorite holiday in Korea. Why? Because I get 3 days off.  

This Chuseok was much better than last for 2 reasons. The first being my friend from school, Mollie, came to Korea. She's studying in China and made some spare time to come and relive our college days. In May I went to visit Mollie and now it was her turn to check out my digs. We didn't do many tourist things though. We checked out all of the major shopping districts during the day and all of the bars and clubs at night. For a short time, it felt like I was back at Etown.

The 2nd reason this holiday was better than last was because I finally went to a park here. I've been in Korea for 13 months now and have yet to do many of the main tourist attractions. Being that many would go to see families from Sunday to Tuesday, it was the perfect time to check one thing off of my list. We went to Everland and Caribbean Bay to celebrate.  Caribbean Bay is a water park that is now out of season since it's September, so less people and smaller lines. The weather was perfect, but many of the rides were closed. Despite some rides being closed, we had a great time with the slides that were open and the lazy river. 

After soaking up the sun, we walked next door to Everland. I didn't realize it, but it's open for the Halloween season so again many rides were closed. The park had pumpkins, ghosts, and zombies everywhere. You couldn't get away if you tried. They had parades, shows, and creepers walking around to scare you silly. I have to admit, they got me! We didn't get to ride as many rides as I would've liked, but I did get a set of fun ears to wear and painted my face like a little kids, so I can't complain.  

On Wednesday, we all went back to our normal routines and Mollie went back to China. Hopefully all holidays will be as good as this one was. Maybe next time we'll stay away from the  jell-o shots though, they've turned the King into an alcoholic. Yes, Louie is now in love with them! Stay tuned...

Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae