Hana, Dul, Set!

I was really in need of a weekend out of Seoul, and I got it this past Saturday and Sunday. We headed out on a train to Jinhae, it's on the southern coast of Korea. The ride was over 5 hours long and I slept most of the way.

I was finally in Jinhae. The weather was cool and it was a bit cloudy, but the air was fresh and everywhere I looked I was surrounded by white and pink bursts of flowers. Every time the wind blew petals snowed down and covered my path. It was simply beautiful.




Like any Korean festival, there were soju tents and street food to be had. Corn dogs, cotton candy, waffles, and the treat I despise the most, bondagi. Bondagi is silk worm larva that is stewed in a sweet paste. It's absolutely disgusting. The smell of it makes my toes curl. My students tell me it melts in your mouth....ew.



They had pigs roasting on rotisserie. It was pretty tasty, even though I'm not into seeing the face of my lunch. My favorite was the waffle filled with ice cream and topped with sprinkles. (Diet starts tomorrow?)



We visited "romance bridge" as it is labelled on the tourist map. A popular drama was filmed there. It was packed with people posing and taking pictures with HUGE professional cameras. Every few steps I could hear "hana, dul, set!" which means one, two, three. It was picture mayhem! That's another thing in Korea. You must have an oversized camera with a giant lens. Forget the mini dog to fit in your purse (that trend is still alive and well here, though). I sort of felt trapped in a giant group glamour shots session or something.







We walked up the tallest tower in Jinhae. There are 365 steps and supposedly if you walk up all 365 steps, an extra year is added to your life. Sadly the top deck was closed off due to military security (the base can be seen from high up and with all the tourists, they didn't want too many pictures), so I guess I'll have to try again next year.







It was a great trip and a good little get away. Considering South Korea is the size of the state of Indiana, it's pretty easy to get around, coast to coast.



Hoping the weather warms up. Am looking forward to more baseball games and rooftop cocktails. Doing my best to keep the blog updated. I noticed today that my first 4 or so posts are missing, thanks to my original blog that got deleted. I'll try to get those back up.

I've got my cherry blossoms in between book pages under the mattress :) Just a keepsake.

-C