Travel Diary: Taking the Plunge.

Saturday, I woke up even before the clock rang. I didn't get much sleep the night before as I was busy packing, but the thought that I might be forgetting something woke me up an hour early from our supposed 'waking-up' time. I just had to make sure that everything is packed and in order before we leave the house. By 10 am, we were on the road, slowly inching our way towards Cheolla province. The traffic went as far as Chunchong-do, but after that, the roads were clear and open..

Cheolla is 5 hours away from where we live. Halfway going there, we stopped at a resting place. I was nervous the whole morning when it rained, and I was so relieved when the skies finally cleared and it was all bright and sunny.




At the stop, there's this wall with water cascading like a waterfall of some sort. It wasn't really cool or anything, but the weather was so hot that I was tempted to let the water run through my hair.

When we arrived in Jeonju, North of Cheolla province, we passed by a random river where people put up tents and kids were swimming. The weather was about 33 degrees celsius then, so we agreed to park somewhere and cool off in the river.

The water is nice and cold like that of an ice water, perfect when the weather is blistering and humid beyond description. For someone who hasn't been to Korea, it's hard to imagine how hot and humid it gets when it's summer here. It's nothing quite like it.

At a shade under the bridge, people were cooking samgyeopsal and drinking soju. There were soju bottles everywhere, and I could smell the alcohol from meters away. Soju is as ubiquitous as Cola here, they drink it everywhere, it doesn't matter if it's morning, afternoon, or night time.

After spending time at the river, we went to Jiri-san. The cold mountain air was such a relief. The temperature is not more than 23 degress from where I stood. The air is nice and crisp with a hint of pine tree smell. It was foggy then so you can't really see the mountain clearly in the picture. The clouds and the silhouette of the mountain looked really beautiful, I don't think I'll ever get tired of this scenery.

It was hard to stand still, the wind is really strong and cold. I was shivering a bit from the cold wind, and I regret not to bring a sweater.

On our way down from the mountain, we passed by a stream. It must be beautiful if the weather is nice. We were blocked by an officer to get close to the stream, the rain made the water muddy and the current strong. The rocks were also slippery that it's dangerous to get close.

We just stood in the bridge to watch. Not for long though, mosquitoes started to gather and bit us mercilessly. I was scratching like crazy after..

We headed to Namwon next, still in North Cheolla province. Unlike Jeonju, Namwon has a more traditional side to it. They call Namwon "The City of Love" because it's the location of the famous novel "Chunhyang" (which was turned into a drama a few years ago). The most significant landmark in Namwon is this bridge which they also named after Chunhyang.

At night, the bridge is illuminated with colorful lights and it's hard to miss it from afar.

The most famous tourist destination there is called the Gwanghallu Garden, and I don't mean to sound redundant and all, but it's still very much related to the novel.



We arrived at the garden past 7 pm so we didn't have to pay the entrance fee. At first, I didn't want to enter cause it's already dark, and there's a very big chance that we might not see anything. But I'm glad we went, it looks beautiful even at night.

There's a lake that surrounds the area, and the reflection in the water looks so cute.

Chris asked some people at the tourist information center what's the best restaurant and menu in the area. They all pointed us to this restaurant which boasts several trophies and plaques from a hundred different competition, along with KBS, SBS, and MBC coverage. So it's highly commended, must be good right?

Banchan were served and it didn't look promising..

Then came our orders called "Ju-oh tang".. We spent a good 30 minutes finding this restaurant, so I was expecting something 'out-of-this-world', but when it was served, it looked not only disappointing, but inedible too. I tried looking for the fish called Ju-oh but couldn't find any. Chris told me that they used mixer so the essence of the fish is already incorporated in the broth with the weirdest texture. The first few spoonfuls were tolerable. Bad but tolerable, and I stayed away from the soggy vegetables. But then the ajumma that served it came and sprinkled seasoning. When I tasted it after, I got teary eyed from holding back a gag.

I only ate the rice and side-dishes, Chris finished the soup for me. The sour, bitter, cinammon-y after taste was hard to get rid off, and I could still taste it in my mouth while we were on the way to the pension. So much for being adventurous when it comes to food. Ju-oh tang made it to my top three food-foreigners-should-never-eat while in Korea, the other two are Hong-Oh Hui and Bondaegi. I can't help but think that the guy who recommended this food hated us so much.