Chuseok

As I posted earlier, after only being here for three weeks I already had a week vacation coming.  It was weird to think about, but I wasn't about to complain.

Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, was the recent for the vacay.  It's one of the most important holidays in Korea.  Traditionally it's a holiday for families to get together and remember and honor their ancestors.  For foreigners, it's a reason to get anywhere from three to nine days off.  With the actual holiday falling on a Wednesday this year we were all lucky enough to be on the latter end of that scale.  I did have to work Monday, but the rest of the week was mine.  And I took full advantage.

First stop was a Monday night gathering with some of the Ansan crew, plus two.  We hit an Indian restaurant in the immigrant section of Ansan.  It was awesome.  I will definitely go back there often.  Then it was out on the town in Ansan.

After a quiet Tuesday, it was off to Seoul Wednesday (Chuseok) for a ceremony at Gyeongbuk Palace.  Not only was there an interesting changing of the guard ceremony, but there was traditional dancing, arts and crafts, games and all sorts of fun stuff.  Plus of course the palace itself.

The head guard and I.

Then we gallivanted off to another palace, but after finding out we had to have a tour for the gardens, which would involve quite a wait, we didn't hang around much.  Instead, some of us headed to Myeongdong to do a little shopping/exploring.  My favorite part was checking out the street vendors.

After a long day in Seoul I was happy to be back home to crash into bed.  The plan was to go hiking the next day, but at the last minute some friends decided to try to go to this island.  It sounded like a good plan to me, so off I went.

To say the journey there was interesting would be an understatement.  Most of us left at about 9 a.m.  Pat, Ali and I finally rendezvoused in Ansan after some confusion and we set on our way to Muui-do.  Luckily we caught an express subway after our transfer and camped out on the steps waiting for our other two compatriots.  After a short while Emily arrived, and then Sam called to announce his presence.  We searched for a while to find him, got lost in the underground shopping mall in the process, before finally tracking him down.

Hungry, we scarfed down some Lotteria (Korean ripoff of McDonald's) and started looking for our bus.  We wandered around for a while, asking for help, before a helpful Korean couple told us to follow them since they were headed to the same place.  I don't think I can ever say it enough - some Koreans are so incredibly helpful.  Two buses and two ferries later we had reached Muui-do.  But the journey wasn't over, as we had to get to the other side of the island and Hanagae Beach.  Again, we were searching for a bus.  We started walking down the road, asking people, to no avail, where we could catch the bus.  Finally we saw the bus and hitched a ride.

Tired from our seven hour trek that probably should have only taken three hours at the max, we were just happy to get to our destination, and ecstatic that huts were still available for just 60,000 won for two nights (less than $60 for five people).  Not that the accommodations were sparkling by any means, but what more do you need on the beach than a roof over your head for the night.  You could also camp for free, but our in floor heat turned out to be a great resource.  It was a little tight with five people, but we made do.

Our little hut

After getting settled we sat on the beach for a while, went for a dip and checked out the sunset before dinner.

Dinner, fresh seafood, was awesome.  You just can't beat food that fresh.  After dinner we sat around the campfire on the beach, listened to people play guitar and met most of the other foreigners on vacation as we all enjoyed our soju and beer.

I'm an early riser by genetic (whoops, sorry for the Caroline's Spine reference; it's just too easy), but I am an early riser.  I don't know why, but when the sun comes up it's just time for me to be up.  So I was the first in our group to really get to know our Canadian friend Andrew.   From Vancouver, Andrew is a 31-year-old recovered drug addict who was polishing off a bottle of soju soon after he awoke.  I don't think he went long without a drink in hand the whole time we were there.  But I guess he's either drinking or he's not.  I guess last week was a drinking week.

Day two, it was time to check out the crazy tide.  When it goes out, it goes out.  It's hard to imagine, but I think I walked about a mile out when the night before I was well over my head just 20 yards or less from shore.  Late in the day, Emily and I hiked to the top of the small mountain and surveyed the 360 degree view of the island.

Dinner night two was excellent again.  We opted for the galbi this time, which was a most excellent choice.  Then everyone again migrated to the fire.  But this night things would go down a bit different.  After finishing up with most of their fireworks, a Korean family came over to see what we were up to and show off some sparklers.  One of the older men spoke pretty good English and sat down to talk to us and we shared drinks with each other.  It turns out he spent four years in the Chicago area and his children went to the same middle school as many of Emily's close childhood friends in her hometown.  People always say it's a small world.  Wow.

Muui-do was definitely a great way to cap off the Chuseok week.