Fall Came Early: A Traveler's Happy Ground.

We live in such a wonderful world, and there's no end to the adventures we can have if we only seek them. For me, traveling is such a liberating thing to do, to be in a place so unfamiliar, to see and experience things you could only imagine, and to learn more about the world and appreciate what God has blessed us with. It doesn't matter if the journey is long, if the roads are winding and tortuous, or if you fell off the beaten paths and take unexpected routes. Traveling after all isn't about arriving at your chosen destination, it's more about the amazing journey to get there.

One of the things I look forward to when traveling is a cozy and comfortable place where we could retire at the end of the day. More than fancy hotels, I love to stay in pensions and have barbecue outdoors while drinking and enjoying the scenery. Chris found exactly the place I had in mind, located at the remotest part of Chuncheon right beside Bukhan river. The pension is surrounded by thick pine trees and seasonal wildflowers. The owner was gracious to give us the best room in the house, with riverfront view of the river, and a small hill nearby, thick with chestnut trees and dawdling squirrels.

There is a short trail that leads to the river, and at the side of the bank, there is a small tree house that looks really romantic and perfect for couples like us.

The tree house is small and it smelled like fresh paint, but it's also cute and the view inside is just mesmerizing. We had barbecue there and drank beer and wine for hours before calling it a night and retreating to our room.

Despite the cold winterish air, we kept the windows open that night while sleeping. At the first sight of light, I woke up. This was around 5:30 am, and Chris woke up soon after. We went to an early morning stroll around the pension hoping to see more of the squirrels and the river.

That morning I was shivering from the cold and the drizzle. We went inside the tree house again, and sitting there, wrapped in a beach towel, and drinking warm coffee was surely a perfect way to start yet another amazing journey.

Crisp early morning air, dewy grass and pinetrees, mountain covered in delicate fog, and squirrels loafing idly in search for breakfast... Could there be a more beautiful morning than this?

Fall Came Early: Taking A Cold Dip.

I come from a big city where traffic and pollution are the ones that greet us in the morning. Fog, dewdrops, and crisp early morning air are basically non-existent there. I was always surrounded by buildings and asphalted roads that's why from my earliest childhood, it was my deepest wish to be with nature. Here in Korea, I'm repeatedly drawn to mountains and valleys where I could watch the flow of water for hours on end without getting tired or irritable. I think of it as a life itself, and something that is infinitely soothing to the eyes, and delighting all the other senses at the same time.

There is a valley in Gapyeong that we love to visit. They call it Yongchu, and the water there is so immaculately clean and cold all throughout the year. The boundaries, banks, and jagged rocks where the water circulates are so amusing to see, like a piece of art indicative of God's creative hands. We purposely visited there after the summer has ended, when the water is too cold for a swim. The only time you could really appreciate it's tranquillity is when it's free from rambunctious multitude of half-naked, waggling bodies.

In Yongchu, there is this place where you could rent small cabins to spend the night, and it comes with a free use of Philippine-style Nipa Huts like the one below.


We have our favorite secret spot at the remotest part of the valley where the water runs at it's deepest. There is a government warning signage posted at the entrance discouraging people to swim, so people don't usually go there. We sort of expected we could have the place all to ourselves like with all our previous visits, however, this time around there was a group of rowdy, thrill-seeking souls who arrived before us.

These two audacious guys took turns back flipping and jumping into the cold water. The perils of being young, they think they're invincible and nothing could ever hurt them.. A decade ago, I would have thought the same thing, and that it's cool and fun to be taking risks like that. But now that I'm older and fairly wiser, all I could see are the rocks below and how easy for them to smash their heads on it. I can't help it, with older age comes the inevitable part of becoming a party pooper.

The jagged rocks on the surface of the water are really slippery, and I exhausted my leg muscles from keeping my balance. When it grew numb, I spent most of the time resting atop this huge rock, soaking in as much Vitamin D, filling my lungs with fresh air, and just wallowing in the slumberous sound of the flowing water... I like it this way, and not even the boisterous group could deter me from having a very relaxing day.

Fall Came Early: A Taste of France.

I've never been to France, and the closest thing I ever got to something French is a bottle of red wine and my favorite French food. But I read a lot about how beautiful this country is. France is apparently so captivating that one man decided to make a replica of a village he visited there. That's how "Petite France", a theme park I visited in Gapyeong came to life.

Whenever we come to Gapyeong, we'd always pass by this, nestled beautifully atop the mountain, with rows of exquisitely designed French houses and colorful flowers surrounding it. It was all too inviting to see from afar, and this time around, I just had to enter. A single entry ticket costs 8,000 won, and that gives you a taste of how it feels like to be in the "Land of the Franks".









Just as the sun was at it's peak, and herds of picture-taking tourists got plentier by the second, we decided to go. It was lunch time then and I was getting hungry. We drove to Nami Island where lots of specialty restaurants thrive. I chose this restaurant that has a huge picture of their special menu called "Dolsot Bap" (stone cooked rice). Each person costs 10,000 won, and that sounds unreasonably expensive for a bowl of rice right? But the catch is, it comes with so many mouthwatering side-dishes. I was stunned as the lady served all of it, barely having enough space for chopsticks and spoons!

To be cont...

Fall Came Early: Epilogue

I just got back from our weekend escapade, and all the fun and merry making left me with a couple of bruises, a slight fever, and annoying aches and pains that gnaws everytime I move. I may have pushed myself too much this time, and I knew it's bound to hurt. But I couldn't care less as I've had the most amazing, unbelievable, adrenaline-rush inducing experience of my life!

We went to these 3 amazing places.

Gapyeong - I've been here thrice before. It wasn't really exciting or anything, but we went to places we haven't visited before.

Chuncheon - I already lost count how many times I've visited this place before. But this time, we discovered an amazing place not many people know of.

Cheorwon - This place is unbelievable! It was my first time to be in a place so remote, so beautiful, and so close to North Korea (they even sell North Korean liquors there!). But unlike the boring DMZ thing-y which is a total waste of money, this one's different! It's not really that popular for thrill-seeking tourists so the nature is at it's most pristine form. It's nothing quite like what I've seen before! And believe me, I've seen so many places in South Korea (east, south, north, west, name it and I've been there), but this one reigns supreme.

Summer has officially ended the day we departed. Tomorrow is officially the start of the fall season, but it came two days earlier. The trees have started to change color from where I visited, and that familiar autumn breeze makes itself known in the early mornings and at night. It was so cold I always shivered. I wish I brought my parka with me during the trip, so I wouldn't be sick like this, lying in the bed the whole day, with fever and headache no amount of Tylenol could cure...

An Evening of Culture and History.

I was feeling quite lethargic the day Chris asked me out on a date. That was Monday, I just got off from the phone with my sister and she passed a bad news that pretty much ruined my day. I could tell Chris could feel whatever bad vibe is in the air, and whenever he wants to make me feel better, he'd ask me out to 'blow-off' some steam like what he likes to call it. We were already half a block away from home when we realized that we didn't have a place to go. It was late and other than bars, all places were already closed. Then a sudden idea sparked in my head, and I just knew the perfect place to go. Suwon is synonymous to Hwaseong (Brilliant Fortress), the most famous and probably the only place in Suwon worthy for a late night bus ride. Hwaseong was built by King Jeongjo during the Joseon Dynasty to honor his father Prince Cado who was murdered by his own father King Yeongjo.

When we arrived, the main gate was already closed so we had to take a much more difficult trail of probably 500 stairs and barely visible pathways with hungry mosquitoes and moths flying in all direction. It didn't sound even the slightest bit romantic to be called a 'date', but when we reached the top, I understood why people subject their legs to that kind of abuse and commune with mosquitoes and other insects I barely know the names. Standing right in the middle of it, with the wind, the view, and the lights was all too perfect.

We continued to climb till we reached the ancient observatory that has an amazing 360 degree view of Suwon. If it's only possible, I wanna have a romantic candlelight dinner here at the exact same spot where I was standing and took this picture..




This wall encloses the palace of the King, and surrounds the center of Suwon. I always see it whenever I take the bus to go to the subway.

One of the many gates...

On the way down, the view was equally breathtaking.

It was pretty late, but we didn't wanna leave the Fortress and end the magical evening just yet. I told Chris about the candlelight dinner that I was imagining while we were up there, but since that's not even remotely close to being possible, we settled for the next best thing. We went to this traditional restaurant that has clay pots everywhere, ancient wooden decors hanging on the wall, and straws weaved on the roof like a hut. He said he wanted to give me a taste of their traditional culture.

We ordered Dongdongju, a traditional liquor made from brewing rice, yeast, wheat flour, and water. It's sweet and has a milky off-white color. It's served chilled on a bowl with a scoop like in the picture below. It's kinda grainy like that of soybean milk, and part of it settles below so you have to give it a good stir before you drink it.

Here's a picture of me, taking my very first sip.

Dongdongju is best consumed alongside "pajeon", but in the tradition of using "pa" or onion leeks to make this dish, we had something a bit more elaborate. This one's kimchi, haemul (seafood), and gamja (potato) jeon in one platter, just like a three-flavored pizza we all love.

Chris has the metabolism of a teenage boy, and as if the three-flavored jeon wasn't enough, he ordered yet another sidedish called "dakbal" (chicken feet in uber spicy sauce served on a sizzling platter). Ok, I don't normally eat chicken feet, but this is one rare occasion where I actually consumed more than I'm supposed to.. It has a weird chewy texture (no bones or anything), but it's really tasty.. With my three year stay here, I think Korea is growing on me.

When we left the restaurant, we were full and a bit tipsy. We walked holding each other's hand, laughed like crazy for no reason (a classic when you're drunk), and waited at the wrong bus stop alongside a sleeping homeless man which resulted to a few more rounds of laughter. Hearing the bad news from my sister, I was hurting to have this kind of fun, and I'm so glad we did.

Movies, Shopping, and a Sumptuous Dinner

Chris heard from a reliable source that the Song-do Festival pretty much sucked, so he figured we better do something else that Sunday. We went to the theater to watch "The Perfect Getaway", it stars Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn who played newlyweds on a honeymoon somewhere in Hawaii. As much as the director wanted the story to be 'unpredictable', we kind of predicted 95% of what's gonna happen. The story wasn't original and I thought they copied it from the movie called "Taking Lives" which was far better, and far loaded with punch.

Chris wanted to do a bit of shopping so we hit the stores right after the movie. It amazes me how long it took him to choose 2 shirts of the same style but different colors, and how he spent the next hour trying it on again and again. The saleslady looked annoyed as hell that she had to 'sales-talk' him for like two hours, but he ended up not getting anything. I waited for him at some couch, but when it became unbearably long, I decided to shop as well. I was able to buy a pair of jeans from Polham, two blouses, and a skin care set in less than 15 minutes.

Dinner was "Dak Galbi", stir-fried chicken in spicy sauce. It was delicious, but spicy as hell! I sweated profusely and got a fervent runny nose while eating...

Most grilled, barbecued, and stir-fried food here have really strong smell that cling to clothes. If you don't want to roam the streets smelling like what you had for dinner, go spritz yourself with that fabric spray before leaving the restaurant. Most restaurants here have one sitting by the counter...

One with Nature.

By no means could I call myself a decent photographer. First, I don't own a decent camera. The one I've been using is ancient and very much abused. Second, I drink way too much coffee, and perpetual tremor goes hand in hand with that. Third, I'm simply bad with angles. But even with all these reasons, I still love taking photographs.

I once considered buying a DSLR and turn this hobby into a full-blown vocation. I did save up for it, but then I changed my mind. I keep on thinking, I should buy one only when I'm absolutely sure that I could earn from it. But given the three reasons I enumerated above, that's highly unlikely.

When I went on a trip the last time, I got to commune with nature. I saw some pretty interesting things, and I thought it would be nice to post the pictures here (just don't mind the angles, and the fact that I obviously lack the talent).

Of Skittish Saturday Evening.

It's Saturday and I'm home alone. Chris is spending the night at his house in Song-do, and I'll be joining him tomorrow to see the festival there. Before I could even begin to imagine what lies in that festivity he's bugging me to see, I have to deal with the fact that I'll be alone for the next 24 hours. The house is so empty without him, and for the first time ever, I began to miss him right after he closed the door and left. I just finished a tall cup of Iced Americano, my 2nd serving today, and I could definitely feel the caffeine kicking in with jitters and all. Something tells me that I wont be spending a huge chunk of that 24 hours sleeping...

So what is there to do when you're alone on a Saturday evening? Well I got a bag of popcorn ready to be microwaved later, beer chilling in the fridge, and a few more episodes of my favorite TV show to be downloaded, then I'm all set to pull an all-nighter or at least till the caffeine wears off.

You know you have too much caffeine when you're anxious and jittery for no reason, and that's exactly what I'm feeling right now. I hope dimming the lights while drinking this cup of peppermint tea would relax me as I'm writing this. Got a couple of songs playing, and they sound pretty great with the speaker volume on high. If you wanna know what I'm talking about, help yourself by clicking the links. I swear it'll do wonders to your restless, caffeine-troubled soul..

One Republic - Come Home

Carolina Liar - Beautiful World

White Apple Tree - Snowflake

Finger Eleven - I'll Keep Your Memory Vague

Death Cab for a Cutie - The Ice is Getting Thinner

Angels and Airwaves - The Gift