Our Foggy Day Adventure in Yeongdeok.

After our stint in Gyeongju, we drove to Yeongdeok next. Yeongdeok is a small, rural county lined with mountains and beautiful coastlines in the North Gyeongsang province. We've been here last summer, but only to eat their famous King Crab. This time around, we wanted to explore more and see the beautiful sights there.

Yeongdeok is about an hour and a half away from Gyeongju. We arrived around 9 pm and it was raining so went to the first inn we saw to rest. It's right in front of the coast, and it's also near this colorful bridge.



In the morning, the view from the floor-to-ceiling glass is spectacular. Outside, the view is even better. We only had to walk a few steps to reach the coast. It was a bit foggy and the sky was all dark and gray from the rain - not exactly the kind of weather you associate with beaches and stuff. But you know what? I did enjoy the weather. It's nice to see and experience it for a change.



Here's Chris enjoying the view.


We had an early lunch at a restaurant nearby. Or menu was crab soup and Mul-hui (mul = water, hui = sashimi).

After that we drove towards the mountain and the view got even better.

We arrived at the Sunrise Park (해맞이공원) around 12 noon. This tower is the first thing that caught my attention. We climbed towards the top, and boy... it was so cold and windy up there!

Below the tower, there's a stairway that'll bring you closer to the water.

It was hard to go down cause the way was muddy and slippery. I was scared to death I'm gonna trip and roll towards the icy waters... ^^;

This is where you should be when you want to have the best view of the sunrise.
Too bad we're too late for that. : (

The place is so beautiful there are endless opportunities to take pictures. Standing in the middle of wildflowers, with fog and the beautiful sea at the back, it felt like I was in the middle of a beautiful dream...

After a while, the rain grew stronger and fog became heavier so we decided to leave the Sunrise Park and go to our next destination. See how foggy it was? It was almost impossible to drive at that time.

We were supposed to see plenty of gigantic windmills (력발전단지) at our next destination, but unfortunately the fog was so thick we couldn't see any. I was disappointed cause I heard it's pretty cool.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving beside the coastline and watching the waves grow bigger and bigger. When we grew hungry, we went to the Crab market to eat. Our menu was steamed King Crabs just like what we had last year.

You can have the crabs anyway you want to, the staff there will cook it for you. But both us agree that steamed is the best way to enjoy the natural taste. It was soooo delicious! And the taste is forever seared in my memory. This picture looks a little nasty, but my mouth waters just by looking at it!

Chris paid 50,000 won for four crabs, and we got this shells for free! It's a little hard to eat this. You need to use a toothpick to get the meat out of the shell, then you dip it in gochujang and pop it in your mouth.

I'm sure you all agree that a delicious meal like that is the best way to cap off an amazing journey!

Baked.

The weather is sweltering today! News says that today's the hottest day this summer season. I can live with this temperature, but not this unbearable humidity! It's hard to move without breaking a sweat, and sweating happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves, so this is pure torture for me.

When I went out to jog this afternoon, I sweated like I never sweated before so I got tired faster than the usual. It's hard to exercise in this kind of weather, but I know I shouldn't stop or else, everything I did will be in vain.

I get out in the sun a lot lately, so I'm doing everything I can to take care of my skin. Nobody wants any of that premature aging and wrinkles you can get from the sun, so I use sunblock whenever I get out of the house. But we all know when it's humid as hell, it feels so uncomfortable on the skin. So I threw away the old product I use which I got from Beauty Credit (take this as a warning people, don't ever buy that!), and started using Nivea Sun Spray. I'm addicted to it cause it's very light on the skin, and I don't feel sticky at all (unlike the others which sometimes make my skin feel like the back of a sticker). The best thing about it, it's so convenient to use. Just spray it on 15 minutes before you get out in the sun, and re-apply it after two hours. I'm so in love with it that I don't think I'm ever gonna use another brand.



I didn't know about the importance of SPF before (all I know if it's higher then it's better), so I googled it. Here's the thing, you multiply the SPF you use to the amount of time it takes for you to burn your skin under the sun. In my case it only takes 10 minutes. For someone who is not so fair, and who hails from a tropical country, I burn pretty fast. So 10 minutes multiplied by 30 (the SPF I use) equals to 300 minutes. This means I'm safe under the sun for 300 minutes.

Snow.

The snowfall didn't stop from last night, and continued on through out the day. As I'm enjoying the relatively new change of my surroundings, I made plans to walk around and take pictures... But I didn't have to walk for long to get my subject. As I was on my way out, I saw these plants covered in snow. I don't know why, but there's something fascinating with a very normal plant covered in thick white snow. Without it, they look ghastly from the sub-zero temperature, but now, they're all so pretty and enchanting..

I like the fascinating scenery the snow creates.. Everything looks nice and clean. I always have the urge to just lie in there, and look at the sky while feeling the snow covered ground below. I wonder how that would feel... Soft perhaps? Or would it be just too cold to appreciate? I should try it the next time it snows this much here.

Of Snowfall and Singing.

It doesn't usually snow that much in Suwon, so the huge snowfall last night came as a big surprise to me. I was only aware of that when I went out to throw the garbage, and snow clusters that looked like mini cotton balls were falling gracefully from the sky, and my ankles were buried. I told this to Chris, he too was very surprised. I was out a few hours before to get some pastries and fresh bread from my favorite bakery, but all I saw was dirty snow melted into a slosh, a texture I hate so much. It reminds me of the ones you get from 7-eleven called 'slurpee'. Whenever I walk on sloshy ground, the sound it makes gives me 'pangingilo'. You know the thing that a person feels when others scratch the blackboard with their fingernails? It's really similar to that.

Since everything looks different and new with thick white snow, I asked Chris to go with me outside. We then found ourselves walking aimlessly, and while doing that, I did enjoy looking at the surroundings... I even saw a couple of crazy college kids having a snowball fight! They too, must be amused like me with the sudden change in the area. I told Chris I wanted to sing so we entered the first Noraebang we saw. I'm an awful singer, but I'm freakishly gutsy when it comes to singing in Noraebang. Well, I could never understand that side of me anyway... While Chris was out getting beer, I browsed the thin selection of English songs. I was really dumbfounded when I saw they had "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse. It's a big, big favorite of mine and I would never, ever, expect it to be included in a cheap, basement-style Noraebang's songbook. Just before the song started, Chris came carrying two large beer. I sang excitedly, giving my best rendition and impersonation of Muse. Midway, Chris got the other mic and started singing with me. I stared at him wide-eyed, bemused. The whole time I was singing, I kept on thinking how could he know this song? Does he have an inner 'cool' side of him that I didn't know of? I've always condemned his choice of music to the darkest pits of hell. Those are the stuff I dread to hear... the bad stuff... unacceptable to my ears.. I couldn't wait any longer so as soon as the final note was finished, I asked him how he knew the song. He casually answered that I played it a lot at home especially when I'm cleaning, and he sheepishly admitted that the tune was a bit catchy too.

Two hours flew fast in Noraebang.. With the very limited selection of songs, I was able to sing 13. When I sang "The Reason" by Hoobastank, Chris sang with me again. In the middle of pauses, he explained to me that I sing this song a lot whenever we visit a noraebang, so he sort of memorized it too. As if I'd be needing an explanation whenever he gets the mic and start singing with me... I find it really funny that sometimes, I influence him to bend his musical preferences. Our last song was "This Love" by Maroon 5, I was yawning uncontrollably after that. It was a little after midnight then.

Summer seems to be Boiling!!!

It's officially SUMMER and I can barfely stand the heat!!! I'm good when the season is cold but I couldn't possibly tolerate the heat~~~

I am very vocal about my uttermost dislike for humidity and heat so I am frequently asked how I could stand living in the PH. The answer is NO, I couldn't stand but I don't have a choice.

At this very minute at several degrees celcius higher from 25, I'm dreaming about being in a cold place, barely standing the bitter cold. I suddenly find myself having an uncontrollable appetite for anything that's cold, iced, or frozen. It's the only way I can stand the heat of this summer that seems to be boiling.

On the verge of perspiration I ponder, just how is it like to be some place in Norway, Greenland, or even Canada....? Already, I'm beginning to feel comfortable just by thinking about it...

Trip gone bad?! (third)

Sunday, the weather was a lot better. They removed the snow from the roads and sprayed a lot of NaCl so it wouldn't freeze. Everything could be seen clearly, not foggy or blurry. But it's colder... much colder than the other days. I appreciate the place even more in this state... There was definitely something magical! Suddenly, I was whisked away in a winter wonderland.. didin't care if it was cold, freezing, or my if my coat got wet. I was a child again, playing in knee-deep snowing as if making my very first snowman. AT that time, it was all about the place so picturesque, can't help but let out a sigh!

Trip gone bad?! (second)

That Saturday we were able to arrive safely (but with very little damage to our car) to the sea famous for the Endless Love 1 drama. I'm sure in a better weather I'll appreciate it more but I barely could open my eyes with the strong wind and snow.

Waves are huge and very strong (reminded me a bit of the movie Blue Crush). I was delighted to see snow in the sea which was a first for me... I wonder how cold the water is?

We headed to the former North Korean president's house which serves as a museum now and I was able to take pictures in the balcony...

We went to some other places afterwards but it's so blurry and we just couldn't see anything. No pics at that time.

Trip gone bad?!

Friday, a day before the trip, there were several travel advisories shown on TV about a heavy snowfall that hit the northern peninsula and Gangwon-do (our destination) having the worst bout of snow and ice. Many roads were already blocked, accidents by the minute, traffic jam which can lead an hour drive to four. Flights have been cancelled and public transportation was inaccessible. After all the preparation and endless anxiety whether or not this trip shall be pursued, we finally departed (against all odds) for Gangwon-do last Saturday at dawn.

The weather seems promising that dawn and it was just snowing a little at that time. It's not even that cold, and I remember I had to turn the heater off while I was inside the car, cause the 4 layers of thick clothing and 2 layers of pants are a bit too warm for the weather. Then I started to notice that the snowfall becomes harder and bigger as we were pushing farther away from Seoul towards our destination. I was pre-occupied waiting for the sunrise that I didn't notice how much the weather was changed from Seoul.

We arrived in Gangwon-do at about 10 am and we directly headed to our first destination. As we were getting near we made a wrong turn and we slid to a huge pile of snow at the side of the road. I was stuck in the front seat, can't get out as the snow covers half of the door beside me. Snow was too deep that we had to dig and luckily some of the locals saw us and gave us a shovel to remove the snow. Snow became harder and visibility is getting more and more difficult. Tires kept sliding as the road became dangerously slippery (we didn't have that tire-chain thing that they use here when it snows). We were going not more that 40km/h or brakes wouldn't function and we'll slide in all direction.

We weren't able to accomplish all our plan that day but I don't have any regret. It's white everywhere... blanketed by snow. Everywhere I look it's beautiful... it's like I can feel some sense of peace and serenity.

Unstoppable

The heck!!! it hasn't stopped snowing the whole day and forecast mentioned it wouldn't for two more days... I wonder how this will affect my trip...? Most major highways are filling up with more and more snow and mountain ways are basically not passable cause cars can't ascend with the icy-slippery road condition.
All hell may break loose but I'm still gonna pursue this trip. This might be the last trip I'm gonna make for a long time and nothing can stop me now!!!
I

A wet morning

I woke up not noticing that it's snowing hard outside. When I went outside, I was shocked to find all the place covered in snow. Wind is blowing in all direction. Sucks that my clothes aren't waterproof and snow just seeps in so I had to go back to my chambers...
Had to do some last minute shopping for my upcoming trip this weekend. My destination is probably one of the coldest place in here, sometimes tipping the temperature a little less than -30 degrees. Thought I'd be stacking some snack for a 5 hour journey and get some stuff for the house.
hm... so cold outside... I badly need a hot chocolate now!!!! Oh, and pancakes will do me just fine....

Bad weather

It hasn't stopped raining since I woke up, there must be some kind of storm or something. The sky is so dark and it's gray everywhere I look. I took the picture at 3 pm, but it looks like it's already night time. When the weather is like this, I feel gloomy. I made plans previously for a Friday night like this, but now.. I am just not in the mood to be outdoors where everything has wetness written all over it.

When it rains, it's difficult to get a cab, buses are seldom and are always full, and it seems like there's traffic jam in almost every intersection. So I really hate it everytime it rains.

I took this pic just outside my place. The quality is not good because it's raining and it's quite difficult to take a picture while holding an umbrella. My hands just couldn't stop shaking cause it's chilly outside. I wish this rain would just stop...