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As mentioned in previous posts, we decided to try other rides first.  We’re a gang with fellow traveler Ryneth.  Personally, I’d like to try the 3D cinema which also has a fairly long queue and then go for the more exciting ones.  but Ryneth prefers to use up the alloted tickets to ride on all the exciting ones.  So, we ride on two types of roller coasters.  One being rock n’ roll themed (Rolling X-Train), the other being Western-themed.  I did not take this other ride where you are rotated in 2 ways.  It turns out it’s a bit tough on the groin, so, hahah, I’m safe.

That’s the rotating rock-guitar themed ride behind us.

All the rides turn out to have long queues.  Typically couples and barkadas take these rides.  There’s even a few conscripts from the ROK Army taking a break and going out with their gf’s.   You can tell, because, well, they’re still wearing their uniforms.

It doesn’t take long and we are done with three rides before taking the Safari ride.  I still have one more ride unused.  There’s this supposedly anti-gravity ride that picqued my interest.  Alas, when we got there, it was closed.  So, we explored just about all of Everland.  As the hours go on, it’s getting to be pretty chilly.  There are lamp posts in some areas where you can stand and temporarily get warm .  Since Everland was built on hills, there are spots where we walk on slopes.  We’ve captured some interesting videoclips and posted them on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0w9TCyKgwc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0It8BxpQJg

We’re supposed to meet our tour guide, Irene, at around 6pm.  And so we did.  Even dinner is specially arranged on a price level with our choice of what dish we’d like.  There’s Asian, Italian and American.  Since we’re in Korea, I say, let’s try the more local fare.  So we chose Udon noodles with Tonkatsu breaded pork.  Yes, it’s not a Korean dish, but we haven’t tried it either.  Some of the members of our travel group failed to come on time.  So, they had to buy their own dinner (again).  I say again because we already paid for this as part of our travel package.

There’s still enough time to ride the Safari.  It’s still a very long queue and so, it still took us quite some time to get to the point of the safari ride.  Soon, finally we got on the Safari bus  and watch some wild animals having sex, sleeping, being fed…  The first wild animal we see are a couple of lion and lioness doing the nasty.  Hahahaha…  The lions/tigers, owls and bears are separated by gates.  There’s supposed to be giraffes, but since it’s very late, we suspect their area is closed by now.  Safari has several buses operating, so, it’s not just one ride going around.  The ride itself must have been about less than 15 minutes (?)…  Aftr the ride, we decide to buy souvenirs at the nearest shop.  We bought a couple of stuffed toys that are hybrids of two animals.  A Siberian Tiger/Bee  and Strawberry/bunny.

It’s running late, and by about 8:30 everyone is back on the tourbus.  We go to the next nearest city, Suwon, where we stay at La Vie D’or (the Golden Life) Hotel.  We’d have loved to walk around Suwon, but the hotel itself is some distance to the nearest commercial district.  The rooms in La Vie D’or is unique.  In terms of size, it’s the biggest from all our stays.  It has a sala set.  The water from the faucet is purified to be drinkable.  It even says "the water from this faucet is safe to drink!".   The only drawback is the lack of a mini-fridge.  So, we ate as much of the box of strawberry while watching Starcraft matches on TV before going to sleep.  Yes, only in Korea.

One thing that dominates the Korean economy for good or bad is the chaebol. Basically, they are conglomerates that invest in varied businesses. The Philippines have the Lopezes which virtually creeps into everything the modern Manilan must do to live through the day: phones, electricity, water, entertainment. Similarly, so, are the Ayalas, Henry Sy, and SMC.

Among the most famous chaebols are LG, Hyundai and of course, Samsung. These companies virtually control every business needed to run a modern economy. Samsung has businesses in computer components, memory chips, communication devices, chemicals, insurance, construction, department stores, entertainment and even sport teams and automobiles. It’s these companies that helped made South Korea what it is today.

Most people are familiar with Samsung’s electronic appliances. But the place we’re going after our meat/salad lunch is owned and operated by Samsung. The place is called Everland. It is but one of several theme parks operating around the country. In the Philippines, we only have Enchanted Kingdom in comparable size and scope.

The day we arrived to Everland is on a Saturday, so that naturally means more people. Everland is more than just a theme park. From the literature I’ve read, it’s also got a hotel. Somewhere nearby is a racing track? and ranch? Anyway, lots of vehicles already parked, but we still manage to find parking. Irene arranges for the tickets for everybody. We also grab maps and they become souvenir of our trips as well. We enter and the place looks big, probably bigger than Enchanted.

The tickets we have allows us to enjoy up to 5 rides or amusements. Like Enchanted, Everland is divided into different themes such as Roman, Jungle, Rock n Roll, Western. In Jungle, we can see cage/preserve for polar bears and tigers. One of the most sought after amusement is the Safari, a theme ride where you get to see lots of wild animals. But the queue is very, very long and that’s just outside the Safari building. We decided we split up and enjoy other rides first.

You can immediately see the most popular snacks here are churros and popcorn. Aaaahhh… popcorn… There are lots of carts all over Everland serving popcorn. And the rich buttery smell permeates all over within its vicinity. It’s all around and smells so good to make you want to eat, and the only thing keeping us from buying them is a shortage of Wons. Heeheheheh…

To be continued

We have lunch before going to Everland.  This Korean restaurant we go to is different from the past couple of days.  We were advised to leave our jackets because the smoke from the barbecue could make them smelly.  The restaurant feels a lot more traditional.  First, we leave our shoes at or by the shoeracks.  The tables are the lowlegged types, so that means we sit on the floor.  As usual, we have the banchan.  This banchan has the usual kimchi, fishcake, big tauge namul…  There is a saucer of gochujang, the hot pepper paste, and lots of lettuce.  We didn’t quite figure what to do with the raw lettuce, until Irene tipped us that you put in desired ingredients in the lettuce, including of course, the meat,  and then you stuff the stuffed lettuce into your mouth.  The barbeque has big portions of fat with it, so, one of our mates cut out the fatty portions.  I’m not sure how much the lunch cost us, but it’s like we have endless refills/supply of barbeque.

The taste of barbeque was okay, but what we did enjoy was the novelty of making lettuce wraps.  This easily tops as my most memorable meal in Korea.  I try not to get too full though, knowing we’ll be going on rides. 

As seemingly typical with small family owned restaurants here, people eat around lunch or dinner.  That’s around a set time. By about 1:00 there’s hardly any other customer.  It’s almost like the carinderias in the Philippines.  You typically eat at these places just to get your fill, and quickly go back to work.

With lunch finished, we’re off to Everland!!!

Less than an hour later, we have reached one of Korea’s strawberry farms.  If you’re imagining some idyllic sunny farm with strawberries sprouting all over the field, then remember that’s just your imagination.  The farm is  composed of several hothouses.  The hothouses are covered in transparent plastic.  We enter one hothouse.  Just beside the entrance is a controller that regulates heating inside the hothouse.  It is spring in Korea, and the climate is still cold.  Strawberries would just get ruined in such a climate.  Management told us that we can each look around and pick up to 3 strawberries for free. 

The strawberries are planted in 6 columns, and we can easily make our way between them.  I’m not sure why the soils are covered in black plastic.  Since it is 3 pieces inside a hothouse, it didn’t take too long to explore.

Going to the farm and to see it, it’s like how Mr. Bean in the Bean movie explained about Whistler’s Mother painting.  His mother looks like an ugly old hag, but he loves her and that’s all that matters.  In this case, the Koreans make the most out of limited land.  Growing produce that normally blooms well into the summer.  There is only 1 harvest season for rice and that is sufficient to feed everyone there for a year.  By contrast, we could probably do 2-3 harvest, but it’s still not enough to feed everyone.  Simply put, it is not a picturesque farm, but it does its job to make strawberries.  Big, juicy strawberries at that.

As we leave the farm, the owner of the farm arrived and with only a few boxes of strawberries left, offered to us at a special price.  We bought all the boxes.  Yummy.  All the biggest, plumpiest, yummiest strawberries we’ve ever seen and tasted.

Next, we go to lunch first, and then Everland!

The following morning, we again wake up at 6am, although James always set the time at 5:30 for better preparation.  Breakfast is at the ground floor.  Knowing we will be going to Everworld later, we try not to eat heavy.  Although this is still Daemyung Resort, the entrees are not as memorable as the one in Gyeongju.  We hear there is some discussion about taking a detour to a kimchi factory before going to the strawberry farm.  This is later confirmed when Irene officially gave the suggestion.  Since this is not part of the planned official itinerary, there is an entrance fee.  Ten thousand Won if I remember correctly.  Everybody agrees.  Two hours later, we are at the Duittle Kimchi Experience Center. 

There are two long tables with plates of ingredients that will make a kimchi.  An old woman who seems to be the one in charge of the factory gives the introduction.  Irene does the translating.  Imelda has our camera and shoots pics of us.

The old lady informs us how kimchi is made.  Lots of ingredients are involved.  The most popular and therefore familiar kimchi is the cabbage kimchi.  To give an idea in the production process, she instructs us how to do the final stage of the kimchi-making process.  We all wore gloves and aprons.  We smother the cabbage with gochujang mixed with lots of other ingredients.  There is also a technique in wrapping them.  The kimchi as is, is ready to eat.  Not one of us is eager to eat the kimchi without something to counter the pepper.

We proceed to another room and given samplings of Korean snacks.  We don’t what some of them are called in their Korean names, but I learned more about them from Arirang TV. 

In this picture, clockwise from right you can see of course, kimchi, kimchi pancake (kimchi jeon), ginseng juice, sweet potato, rice cake (tteok).  The tteok is chewy.  The kimchi is not so spicy when cooked as jeon.  We got to see what ginseng looks like.  They have big jars containing preserved ginseng.  The old lady gives an offer to everybody.  If you buy a box of kimchi, they will ship it at the duty free on the day of your departure.  At least one family avail of the offer.  We’d love to buy, but the power supply in Bicol is not so stable lately.

In a nearby structure, you can get dressed in hanbok (韓服) and pose.  Inside the dressing room, there is a rotating fan, actually it’s not a fan.  It’s a heater that half-rotates to warm occupants and tourists.  We all get dressed and posed.  James and I got dressed in the blue civilian official uniforms.  Everybody posed as individuals, small groups, and the whole everybody.  Soon, we took of our hanbok.  We ride and proceed to a strawberry farm.

Danyang appears to be a pretty quiet city, but it still has Daemyung Resort and Aquaworld.  Pretty big resort.  We arrived at about 3:30pm.  The plan is to meet around the Aquaworld lobby at 4pm.  James and I always try to stick to the time.  When we came down at Daemyung’s basement level where Aquaworld is, Irene can only comment, "you’re always on time!"  hahahah…
We brought our swimwear and towels from our room.  Irene is already negotiating with the clerk.  Probably, as part of keeping the pool clean, you have to rent or bring your own swimcaps.  Renting the cap is only 1,000 Won, but just to make sure you return the cap, you must pay 2,000 Won.  Aquaworld lobby is beside a shop that sells souvenirs and swimwear items.
Securing your stuffs is unique here.  First, the "concierge" gives you a key to a numbered footlocker.  The footlocker then has a key to locker room.  You must leave your shoes at the footlocker.  This arrangement was a bit confusing to us at first.  Irene explains to us, men, the arrangement, and note that  locker room is through that other door.  Am sure she wish to point out some other intricacies, but "I’m a woman, I can not go there with you!".  Hard to describe here, but I found it to be a humorous exchange.  I was thinking "yeah, you can’t because you’ll get arrested."  Hahaha…
Irene explained to us that Korean people tend to be more relaxed with being naked in a public bath.  Well, at least if among the same gender.  The locker room is big.  There are men walking about.  Some, naked, and not minding.  The locker room is adjacent to the spa, a weighing scale, and a grooming room.
Time to switch to our trunks.  We hit the showers before going to Aquaworld proper.  Aquaworld has a very very big  pool, lots of fountains.  We’re informed you can get massage.  It also has the famed Dr. Fish.  Dr. Fish are very small fish that eat unsightly skin.  We think it could be from Ripley’s Believe It or Not.  There’s a restaurant nearby.  Kids can play at the slide.  James and I proceed to swim around the big pool.  There’s plenty of gushing water coming out at very high pressure.  They’re designed as water massagers.  It’s so stress relieving.  The high pressure water come in various forms.  There’s the shower type, a sitting type.  Stand around long enough and you’ll see your back turning bright red.  Our friend Ryneth, sat on one type of the jetting water.  She sat so long that she still felt the effects later.  But it feels ssssooooo gggooodddd…
After a couple or so hours, we got up.  Aquaworld closes at about 7:30pm.  The sky looks like it’s only 5:30 if you’re back home at Pinas though.  We cleaned up and noticed the digital scale.  We weighed ourselves to find out.  Wow, less than 59 kilos for each of us.
After getting dressed, we went back to our room, change and rest and go back down for dinner.  The basement level of Daemyung features pretty much the same shops and services as the one in Gyeongju.  We had mushroom casserole.  There must be a Korean name to it, but we have no idea what it was.  The dish is composed of, duh, mushroom.  But it also has petchay,  some pork, bit of vermicelli and the biggest tauge we’ve ever seen.  Our guides’ tables ordered a vegetable dish with gochujang.  The tourbus driver went his own way that night.  So, there’s Irene and Imelda who’ll eat their own dish.  However, Imelda can’t stand spicy dish herself.  So, Imelda takes some from our tourgroups mushroom casserole.  And they share some of the spicy stew with us.  The stew has fewer mushroom, has eggplants I think.  If we must follow the saying do as the Romans do, then next time we’ll try to eat Korean cuisine with more gusto.
After finishing dinner, we exchanged stories.  Soon, it’s time to retire, but James, Ryneth and I hope to check out the city.  But we only got so far as the parking lot and stairways.  Danyang is so quiet at night, it kind of reminds me of Legaspi.  There must be something to give the locals a lively night, but wherever it is, it’s not so close to Daemyung.  With nothing to do, we retire for the night.

The pictures show how quiet it is around Daemyung resort.  It’s even quieter than Incheon.

One thing I have to say about our pork and cuttlefish bulgogi, the cuttlefish was not hardly chewy.  So, it was easy to chew and not so tiring to the jaw.  The restaurant along with several other shops are beside the road.  Just outside the restaurant are large ceramic pots containing spices.  At first, we thought it contained kimchi, but Irene said they are spices (gochujang etc.). 
Like I said in my previous post, the Gosu Cave (고수동굴, Gosu Donggul) is just a stone’s throw from the restaurant.  There is an entrance fee, of course.  Irene explains once you go inside, there’s no turning back.  So, those who have bad arthritis, or claustrophobic better back out.  All but one enter, Ryneth’s mom.   At this point, our camera’s battery is getting low.  Eventually, we had to borrow Ryneth’s camera, and just share the pics back in Manila. 
Gosu Cave is about a kilometer from the entrance all the way to  exit.  The cave is not so cold.  If you really work out inside, you can sweat.  It has plenty of beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations.  There are some formations that resemble something.  Like a monkey, or turtle.  Even one that looks like the Virgin Mary.

You walk through every nook and cranny.  The ways are constructed with metal steps and stairs.  There are a couple parts of  the cave that are photo points with a photographer sitting on his/her desk.  He/she can photograph you and give a bigger blow up of the picture (for a fee of course).   There are plenty of points also in the cave where it is off-limits to tourists.  Probably due to safety, or it’s a dead end.  You have to watch out for puddles of water.  I nearly got my foot wet at the Turtle Rock (거북 파위)point.  1 kilometer must have taken us an hour due to all the photo points and looking at interesting formations.
Finally, we reach the exit.  About a couple dozen meters are stalls selling I’m not sure what.  This makes me wish we brought one camera for each of us.  There are mushrooms, and dried seafoods.  Go further is the road, more restaurants, stalls, and foodcarts that sell popcorns and what looks like cocoons.  Across the road is a downhill rocky river. There’s also a watermill with interesting design.

That’s James and me in the picture at the watermill.  There’s a restaurant that specializes in bibimbap.  Must try next time, if ever. 

Our tourbus arrives to meet us from the exit.  We proceed to Danyang’s Daemyung Resort.  Danyang, a very quiet city an hour away…

Travel to Danyang is a stark contrast from the more hi-tech amenities of Seoul, Yeosu and Gyeongju.  Near the way to Chungju Lake, the setting is very rural.  There are a few houses.  The road is more winding here.  In some ways, it reminds me of travelling to Bicol via Camarines Norte but comparably less winding.
We first stop at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.  Kind of like stopping at the restaurant at Sariaia if you were going to Bicol.   The restroom is worse than Sariaia.  The restaurant has considerable diners.  There’s a vending machine just outside that serves hot coffee or what seems to be a very popular drink, Pokari Sweat.  There is a stall where local, mostly dried, produce are sold.  Wish we made some shots.  Hahah..
15 minutes and we are off to Chungju Lake.  The stop is at a higher point.  To get to the dock, you have to climb down steps. At the middle is a souvenir stall with some kinky items which we’ll go back to later.  There are two ferryboats.  We all board on one of them.  At the same time there’s a big group of old ladies who seem to be in a very fun mood.  They board both boats.  They have a CD player playing a very lively Korean song.  The women are dancing.  The boat starts moving.  Yeah, lively music.  One of the women brought fresh mushroom with gochujang (hot pepper paste).  She shares it to everyone, including us!  The mushroom is raw, very wet, and cold.  Dipped in gochujang, it had a intersting flavor.  Popcorns are also served.  Some of our members also bought popcorn.  We go outside the room.  And there is a loudspeaker describing the  natural geographic formations you can see while travelling the lake.  The recorded speaker speaks in Korean, then in English.  We have a hard time following  the speaker.  We even wonder if it’s in sync with what we see.  Eventually, we just admire the natural wonder on our own.  Some of the mountains naturally resemble something such as human faces.  There are bridges along the way.  Those bridges are sometimes used for bungee jumping.  Ryneth’s mom, who is not one to walk around a lot, got to dancing with the women.  We later learn, they are Red Cross workers from Busan.  This is their way to have fun and beat the stress.
At a certain point, the ferry turns around and we eventually are back to dock.  We stop by the souvenir stall.  We saw a mechanical doll stand.  Turn this doll on, and you have Janet (the name of the doll) flashing her boobs.  Ryneth bought several Janets, one for her boyfriend.
We go back to the bus, and proceed first to lunch at a restaurant which is just a stone’s throw to Gosu (or Kosu) Cave.  Lunch served is pork and cuttlefish bulgogi.  The standouts for our lunch were the homemade kim wraps (seaweed wraps), and fish cake.  There’s two kimchis in the banchan, the cabbage and radish.
Now that we are filled, it’s time to have some exercise and experience Kosu Cave…

The following morning, we had breakfast near the top of Daemyung Resort.  Breakfast is a vast improvement compared to Best Western- Inchon.  We had brown-shelled eggs, enoki mushroom soup (white long strand mushroom), sausage, some rice, and fruits.  You can see the panoramic view of Bomun Lake (보문호수) . 

After breakfast, we go ahead to Bulguksa (佛國寺; Fu Guo Si).  Reading in Chinese it really simply means Buddhist temple.  If you can’t read the Korean and Chinese characters in this blog, I suggest installing the East Asian language pack of Windows.  Back to Bulguksa.  This is one place you shouldn’t miss if you’re in this city.  It ain’t a UNESCO Heritage Site for nothing.  The architecture is well thought out.  The designs have meaning and purpose.  The number of steps in the main entrance, the roof designs, even the symbols.  Chinese and Buddhist influence really show and is a main part of Silla character of Korea.  It would take very long to give you full details of the place.

Everyone enter’s the gate save for Ryneth’s mom.  Unique trees and plants have a smallcard with their name and specie.  There is a gate that says 天王門 (Royal heavenly door?).  Hanja (韓字) in Bulguksa reads from right to left, compared to Tumuli Park where it’s left to right.  Each side of the gate has goulish statues which is for warding evil spirits.  Some more walking and we reach the front of the temple.  Outside the temple is a storage house where there are tiles.  For 500 Won donation, you can write your name and wishes on the tile.  The tiles will be used for construction.  There’s also a water construct where water is pouring.  The water comes from the mountain and is very clean.  I made sure to taste it before leaving. 
The Korean local government really make sure the site is well preserved.  You can’t use the main steps of the entrance.  You’ll have to use the backdoor.  Inside, there are a number of halls, the two pagodas.  One of the pagodas, Seokgotap, and also a stone stupa contains sarira.  I remember when Papa was cremated, we had the crematorium people pick little light greenish stones and put in a small bag.  That is sarira.  Irene is excited and interested by James retelling this story.  As I said before, most Koreans prefer burial even though Buddhists practice cremation.  Temples have temple stay service if you’re the type to immerse in that much Buddhist culture.  There are four objects that signal you to wake up: a gong, drum, big metallic fish and horn.  If those don’t wake you up, I don’t know what will.


The halls house several national treasures.  There are several interpretations of Buddha statues inside, and very big too.  Once again, like yesterday, students arrive as part of their field trip.  We kind of hustle to finish.  One hall got our attention.  It’s Museoljeon (무설전;  無說殿).  In Wikipedia, it means Hall of No Words.  Irene has a wonderful oxymoronic translation: No Lecture Hall.  This hall is where you meditate in silence and part of learning Buddha’s teachings which is not done by imparting teachings or lectures alone.  So, it’s a lecture hall with no lecturing.

Soon it’s time to go, and we must go now for it’s going to be about 2hr ride to our next itinerary, Chungju Lake (충주호수).  Yes, Bulguksa is one temple you shouldn’t miss visiting.

As mentioned in my previous post, it was too late to visit Bulguksa, so we went to dinner.  Dinner is at this restaurant with a name I’m not sure how it reads… GeoKeuJang?  That sounds like hot pepper past spelled differently.

I’m able to read Hangul lately, though I can’t understand most of the words.  Anyway, we had beef stew with petchay, mushroom and vermicelli.  The kimchi in this restaurant has a stronger alcoholic taste.  Hmm… kimchi can ferment to this point?  Our tour guides also bought commercially packed dried and seasoned seaweeds, or kim for short.  I put some into our seaweed soup.  I thought it was going to expand.  Silly me, the kim has become too different from the original seaweed to be the same.

After dinner, we checked in at the Daemyung Resort of Gyeongju.  The hotel is pretty big.  Our next day’s stay will also be at another Daemyung Resort.  Things that are common with this resort: very spacious rooms with a mini-kitchen, souvenir shop, a basement section that contains supermarket, cybercafe, game parlor, karaoke bar, a Korean restaurant, a fried chicken restaurant, and Daemyung’s pride - Aquaworld.  I’ll detail Aquaworld in the future.  As I said, the rooms we slept in are spacious.  there’s a mini-kitchen and another bedroom where there is no bed because you have to sleep on the floor.  The room is warmed with steam pipes underneath the floor.  Irene recommends sleeping on the floor, special convection makes for very comfy sleeping.

It is still rather early, so James and I went out for a walk even though it’s rather cold.  There are lots of people walking by the lake.  Some old people, plenty of teenagers.  Some are preparing firecrackers for an event I assume.  We walked the radius of the block.  I don’t see any taxis, so getting by seems a bit of a challenge?  I heard Gyeongju bean bread is a specialty in the region, but a bakeshop doesn’t seem to be near, so we didn’t get to sample one. 
I’d like to try another any Korean delicacy, but we’re still feeling full.  So, we just kept walking and looking around and the scenery.  There’s another hotel nearby with a concert.  We could see pretty ladies dancing from a distance.

The picture shows another restaurant but with signs announcing their specialty as saengsamgyeopsal (barbecued belly) and dwaejigalbisal (pork ribs). 

After walking a big round, we retire back to our room.  Tomorrow is another trip.