Random Korea

 

If you look at the YMCA tee-shirt closely, you can see it's an Idaho Falls YMCA!  How an Idaho Falls YMCA tee-shirt got to Korea, I don't know.  These kids didn't speak English, so it's a mystery!

  

Just be fine sexy!  Geez.  Yup, this is the whole shirt, nothing on the front.  We ran after this guy to get the picture.  

  

If you look closely, you can see around the U.S. Army in white letters, it says "United States Marines".  That's interesting!

 

Another cartoon of rules.  Sorry about the flash, the lighting was bad.  If only I knew what each caption said...

  

Green hot dogs?  Be scared.  Be very scared.

Some sort of hot dog with fries/breaded mixture on the outside.  Hey, we were hungry.  The watermelon was really good.

  

Have you seen this?  It's like Dance Dance Revolution but drum style. 

So many random things in Korea--so little time!   

Seoraksan Part II

Seoraksan Part I Continued...

This is a very important photo because it is proof that Rick likes to take challenges and almost fall, hit his head, and die in front of his English speaking wife in a Korean speaking National Park.  On our way up to the cave at the top of ALL the stairs we passed by this rock formation.  Rick thought it would be cool to stand between the two "kissing rocks" (that's the name I made up, not Rick).  He must have been thinking about it our whole journey up the mountain because he was ready to tackle it when we came back down.  Unfortunately the picture does not do it justice.  These were two large boulders that were touching eachother.  In the picture it looks like there is another rock behind that he could stand on but that rock was unreachable--it's just the way the picture looks with the sun hitting it.  Here is a collage of Rick climbing on to the rocks:

It was quite challenging for him to get up between the rocks.  I told him to abort abort because if he would have slipped and needed help I knew I'd be fairly helpless.  Lucikly all went well, mission accomplished, boy happy but boy said he shouldn't have attempted mission in the first place.  Remember this story, it comes in handy the next day.

The next day,

We went on one of these

There's Budda, way down there

.

We hiked up that.  One lady hiked in her bare feet!  It was an intense hike in your shoes, can't imagine it without shoes.

At the top

You could see everywhere!

Out to the ocean

I was a little nervous about all the chipmunks

We kept finding rock creations throughout the park

Ahhh, the picture with the story:

Rick decided he really did want a distressed wife who couldn't speak Korean try and save her husband who is almost double her size in the middle of nowhere.  This picture is actually not the exact waterfall that Rick decided to scale!  We didn't take a picture of that because he had the camera in the hopes of getting pictures from the top.  We hiked all that we could (aka all that a normal person could) because the trail ended at a waterfall.  Rick was convinced he'd read in the guide book that there was a "an unfrequented trail leads from this pool around the left side of the falls and up to the end of this narrowing valley to Towangseong Waterfall...it's one of the most enticing in the park".  He was set on getting to this other waterfall.  It's a shame we don't have any pictures because it is obvious that there is no trail to the left of the waterfall from where we were sitting, almost getting attacked by chipmunks but that's a different story. 

Rick decides to go up the side of the mountain.  I stay put.  There is no trail that I can see and I am fine with that.  He seriously is climbing up the side of a mountain with no trail and tons of brush.  He aborts that plan but decides to scale up the side of the waterfall.  At first I am thinking he will try it and then come back down after he sees it is not smart and extremely risky.  Nope.  He keeps going.  I am getting nervous.  We've hiked quite a ways since seeing someone and I have no first aid kit and I doubt I will be able to move him after he's fallen.  Later he tells me the climb was okay in the beginning but then his hand hold was getting slippery from the wet moss the waterfall created.  He is also in some sprawled out positions trying to get up the side of the waterfall.  It's gotten to the point for him where it's risky to go up but going down would be harder.  He yells to me.  I can't hear him over the noise from the waterfall.  Suddenly, a Korean hiker appears from above.  She is decked out in hiking gear and appears to have a rope.  *Hence, the last post of us joking that the Koreans took their hiking gear a little seriously.  We're not joking anymore*  She crosses the waterfall and is now on the same side as Rick but on the landing above.  Others appear up top on the opposite side, but they stay put.  It is up to the woman to save Rick. 

She begins to throw down the rope and I am thinking, there is no way she is going to be able to pull him up or lower him down.  But then she ties it to a ring shaped anchor in the side of the rock.  He grabs a hold and climbs up the side of the waterfall.  Meanwhile, the men are just looking on.  Rick is saved by the Koreans, well the Korean woman, with all the gear.  We now have a vow in our family never to make fun of Koreans with their outfits and gear.  They are hardcore.  Everyone motions to me to go back and I have no idea when or how I am going to see my husband again.  I hesitate but go back to where we came from hoping to meet up with Rick again back by the entrance gates or somewhere by the bus when I hear people coming down the mountain.  The trail was to the left of the waterfall but 100 yards or so to the left!  Here comes Rick down that trail all in one piece, just the way I like him.  Turns out the really beautiful waterfall he was trying to get to would have been half a day's journey away--it was really far away. 

Lesson not learned day one.  Hopefully lesson learned day two.  I like my husband in one piece. 

Seoraksan National Park

A couple weekends ago we got out of town and went 6 hours East toward Sokcho. We traveled about two hours to get to Seoul and from there took a four hour bus ride to Eastern Korea. We arrived at about 8pm in Sokcho. As we were trying to get our bearings at the bus terminal and figure out where we were in relation to the hotels we wanted to check out we were approached by a lady wanting us to check out her hotel. We somewhat reluctantly followed. She wanted way too much money for the place and although she was persistent, we declined her offer. We went outside only to be approached by another lady wanting to rent out her place. We could tell they were scheming but followed the other lady to her place. It was livable and cheap, so we took it. It was getting late and we'd been traveling all day.

Notice the primitive facet going on here. It's cheap and it works!

THIS was the bathroom--the entire bathroom. We were scared, very scared. There were shoes for us to wear while inside but this also freaked me out. I felt like we were in a public bathroom and put toilet paper down on the seat before using it. We never did use that shower--too scary! Oh, and you can't see the big hole in the ceiling but it was there. Too bad we didn't get a picture of the room itself. Koreans don't believe in sheets so we slept on a blanket. Koreans usually sleep on the floor apparently. Luckily they had a bed in there or we would have looked elsewhere (and probably found something better than this!)
One of the reasons we stayed at that scary not even a hotel place is because it was close to la playa. We had fun watching all the fun little kids playing in the water and seeing a motorboat take passengers from shore out on the choppy water.

The next day we went to Seoraksan National Park. It was really easy to get to thanks to Rick's mad guide book skills and sense of direction. One Thousand Won (one dollar) each way provided us with transportation right to the Park's entrance. It was on the second day we went to the park that I asked if they give military discounts, that saved us some $$$. Seriously, it doesn't hurt to ask--wish we would have asked the first day!

Rick working up his mad map skills. If there was a map anywhere we'd be stopping at it. Notice the walking stick. Oh ya, we're hardcore--we got walking sticks!
Can you tell how huge that Buddha is? It was enormous!
So big!
Humongous!
We hiked and hiked. Fortunately, we were well hidden from the sun under trees and didn't get sunburned the first day. We thought this was the top, but oh no, there was more to go...
...This
We made it and were pretty happy with that. It was funny because for the first bit of the hike the road was paved and we thought it was going to be a walk in the park. All the Koreans really like to dress up for activities. Like, when they golf, they look like professional golfers with all their gear and clothing. Well, when Koreans hike, they really dress the part walking stick and all. So we thought it was a little excessive that they would be so dressed up in their Northface clothing and high tech boots for a paved road hike through the woods. Um, boy were we wrong. It got pretty intense and we stopped laughing at their decked out clothes (this comes in especially poignant the next day *Stay tuned).
Pictures from the top, what's at the top (a Buddhist shrine), me imitating Buddha, going down, and a last look up. The second to last picture is going down--yes, those are stairs!!! It was crazy and I was glad I had my trusty walking stick!

Well, dang, I am going to leave you with this for now. Part 2 next time.

Where is the most beautiful place you've been?

Korean Food

Rick got the bi-bem-bop (not accurate spelling) and I got a noodle soup. Imagine being super hungry after hiking a crazy mountain and trying to quench your hunger with Korean Food. We found the above.
Notice the random sprouts and weeds in Rick's food. Looks scary, tastes primitive but not too bad compared to other Korean foods. We're technically not supposed to eat chicken or eggs because of the bird flu that has been discovered recently in Korea. That makes me wonder, do you know about all the fuss going on with the importation of beef to Korea from the United States? There have been protests everywhere in Korea, major protests. I don't even remember the U.S. having mad cow disease about 5 years ago. I think the Koreans are mad because we are taking away from their beef workers if we import beef from the U.S. But seriously, do they realize how much we are helping their economy and defense? We are spending billions of dollars with the Army here!!!
Opps, I was talking about food. Here are some more pictures. Spicy food, pickled food--those are about the 2 varieties of food they have here.
And then you're thirsty after eating all that spicy food and all you've got are tiny stainless steel cups to fill water up with. Those cups are maybe 2.5 inches high and 1.5 inches around, don't quote me on that. This meal pictured above Rick ordered. No idea what it was, he just pointed to a picture. He said it was beyond spicy. At this point, kimchi wasn't even spicy to him because this was a 1,000,000 on the spice-o-meter! I only touched it with my tongue to believe him. On the other hand, my dish was delish! I was able to find Pasta Bolognse (which I can't spell either )! I was in heaven while my husband was in he**.

So Good!

These wonderful little drinks are SO GOOD! Too bad we don't know what they are exactly. They taste creamy-like and have a vanilla taste but something else too. We just saw them at a regular grocery store (we usually just buy one from little 7-Eleven type stores) and there were pictures of a banana on the package. I'm thinking the other flavor is subtle banana. Oh! So. Good. I should also post pictures of these terrific melon Popsicles we eat all the time. Now if only I could start an importing business back to the States...

Shabu Shabu

I realized I've never mentioned Shabu Shabu. I'm not sure if it's spelled correctly but we'll pretend it is. Shabu shabu is basically do-it-yourself meat and vegetables. Upon entering the restaurant you take off your shoes and sit down on the floor at a mini table. Then somebody brings out a broth and turns on your pot. You add the meat and vegetables when you want. There are also many side dishes brought out to you. Among them, kimchi (really spicy fermented cabbage), rice, and pickled something or the other. Sometimes you get a side of lettuce leaves so you can wrap up the meat and vegetables. I think this was the first Korean food I had here (which I'm told is actually a Japanese food). You don't get a plate to eat from, you just kind of take what you want at the time and eat it. It's weird not having a plate, I guess we're spoiled in the States with our own plate for meals!

The broth is ready to go. Notice the mushrooms in the pot, much tastier than button mushrooms.
The plate of meat and vegetables we got. We really had no idea how to order anything different. We simply said "two people" when we ordered.

Our feast!

EFMB

picture above is of a collapsible wall in case the North decides to invade. this barricade will block the road at least temporarily

He finished! Sorry, it's actually been a while from the top secret mission Rick was on. I wanted to do this great post about it so I kept waiting but here it is, great or not. I was able to go up North, somewhere near the DMZ, to see Rick be awarded the EFMB badge. EFMB is Army for Expert Field Medical Badge Award. From what I've been told this is one of the hardest badges to get in the Army. The candidates had to complete a night land navigation course, day land navigation course, dozens of simulated combat medical drills, and a 12 mile road march where he had to wear a 35 pound rucksack, his full uniform, carry his gun the whole time. and complete that in under 3 hours. He came in 2nd behind the first guy by only 4 minutes at 2:30. I arrived at the site just in time to see him pass by me! I wasn't even at the finish line yet because we had literally just pulled up. I was nervous because I was told no one was able to run with him to the finish line, for fear that they might assist him, so I didn't know if I could run over to the finish line or not. Some candidates actually fall right there, right in front of the finish line and no one can assist them. Imagine to get that close and not make it. Some don't. Luckily I was able to run on the side and see him cross the finish line.

Here he is walk/running to the finish line. The candidates afterwards kept telling Rick what a long stride he had--he just passed right by them! After I got out of the car we could tell someone was coming towards the finish line. People were saying it looked like a tall guy and that it might be Rick but I couldn't tell. So I just stood there as he got closer to us and before I knew it he was passing me on his way to the finish line. He even gave me a smile after 12 miles.

So glad he completed the badge. What a wonderful accomplishment! It would have been sad to be away from each other for weeks and him not finishing. Fortunately, he did and on his first try! For some it takes them more than one try. In fact, out of all the candidates trying out for the badge, out of 147 people only 21 got it!
Here they are during the ceremony, talks, and handing out of awards. One person fainted during the ceremony! I guess that's not uncommon when standing in formation but after a 12 mile road march, all I'd really want to do is sit down! Rick got some Army coins that he's pretty excited about. I don 't know where the tradition started but occasionally a soldier will get an authentic coin to show a job well done. A job well done indeed! I'm definitely proud of my soldier!

Our Halloween Tomato

Look at this little guy we found a little early for halloween. Our little cherry red devil tomato.