In A Blue Funk.

May had been a splendid month filled with kick ass adventures. And as much as I want to write about it, I couldn't. I'm feeling downright depressed lately, and words about merrymaking and blithesome adventures are just the most awkward things to say right now. But before you guys put me on your suicide watch list, let me say that the reason for all this drama is fairly simple (and manageable I suppose). I gained some effin weight, and contrary to what I thought before, it isn't just PMS. It's real poundage from lack of exercise, reckless eating and bad choices of food.

When I weighed myself last night, I almost died when it read 60 (point something) kilos. Ok, I'm not gonna say what the 'point something' is as I intend to keep my dignity intact. Before I came here (roughly about 2 months ago), I weighed 58 kgs. Still pretty heavy as it is, but do you guys know I was 70 kgs before I started working out like crazy? People at the gym back home called me their '3-month success story', but it isn't the case anymore is it? It took a lot of effort to lose that much weight, so there's no way in hell I'm gonna let myself go again... After all, something HUGE is going to happen next year, and I intend to be in tip top share before the time comes.

Today, I enrolled in a gym and I'm absolutely determined to put that 80,000 won fee to good use. The guy who manages the gym is a bit creepy. He's nice and all, but I can't get over the fact that he asked me where I'm going to take a shower thrice today. Thrice ladies and gentlemen, and it sure as hell warrants the word creepy. After 2 grueling hours of strenuous exercise, I understood why. People there don't shower after working out. I was the only one to hit the shower, and it was only then that Mr. Creepy turned the water heater on. I'm not going to discuss this further, so let's all file this under "Water Conservation To Help The Environment", shall we?

Anyway, I'm utterly disappointed with my performance today at the gym. It's as though my muscles turned impotent at the sight of their machines. They are not really intimidating (I've seen more wicked ones at Fitness First back home), but somehow, I can't do the things I normally did before. I can't run and lift weights like I used to. My stamina is pretty low, and on top of that, I heard some weird cracking noise on my joint today. I haven't even even reached 30 yet, and my joints are already failing me... But cracking joints or not, I'm gonna do my effin best to reach my ideal weight of 50 kgs flat ~ with no point whatsoever!

Sunday Rendezvous.

So this is about a gathering that happened yesterday...


***

WHAT: Potluck Party/Housewarming; lot's of food, laughter and a little bit of witchcraft ^^;
WHO: Me and my friends Jehan, Tessa and Anne. With the special participation of Gerald (Anne's better half) and Chris.
WHERE: Jehan's fabulous new home in Gimpo.
WHEN: Sunday, June 6th.


My friends and I had been planning to have a potluck party as early as April, but everyone seemed to be swamped with work, part-time jobs and family affairs that we couldn't squeeze a day out of our busy schedules to make it happen. The days and months kept counting, and the pressure from my impending departure got bigger and bigger, so I sent everyone an 'it's-now-or-never' text to meet on Saturday, June 5th. Eventually, it was moved to Sunday to give way to Jehan's pre-natal check-up. With Jehan's pregnancy and her new apartment, we even got bigger reasons to meet and celebrate!

So the Potluck Party/Housewarming was set, and everyone's expected to bring some food. Armed with a heavy paper bag reeking of pineapples and bell peppers from the Sweet and Sour Pork dish I made earlier, I rode the subway to meet Anne and Gerald. All three of us went to find Jehan's new house hidden amongst a sea of beautiful ricefields and farms. Their apartment complex is new so it was a little hard to find. Gerald, being the courteous man that he is, made a quick stop to buy a huge pack of toilet paper for Jehan (it's customary for Koreans to give toilet paper when they visit a house for the first time). Gerald went back home shortly after dropping us there..


Jehan lives in a beautiful place surrounded by ricefields. I can just imagine how beautiful it's gonna be in fall when the ricefields become golden in color.



As soon as we entered the new house, the party got rolling. Our conversation drifted from wallpapers, to curtains, to pregnancy, and to life in general. Coincidentally, it was Jehan's wedding anniversary that day so topics about significant others were also one of the things we talked about. Tessa had a prior engagement so she had go there all by herself. Jehan's house is a grueling 2 hour bus ride from Seoul to Gimpo, but Tessa beat the odds and showed up 2 hours later carrying a cake! Here's the food we had at the party...

My Sweet and Sour Pork with pineapples and slightly discolored bell peppers.




Anne's Galbi and Chapchae...

Tessa brought dessert, delicious White Mocha Cake..

So four hungry and overly energetic girls in a fabulous new house with endless things to talk and laugh about.. It was a riot from then on!







All's good till Chris called saying he's coming to pick me up at 8. It's so hard to leave when the party is as good as that. To make the most out of my one hour left, I decided to try a trick my mom taught me when I was a kid. Some may call it witchcraft, I call it an ingenious trick to know how many babies a woman will have and what genders their babies are going to be. My mom learned it from her Highschool Physics teacher, and from then on she has been performing this trick. She had done it to over a hundred people since she was young, and she never got it wrong. Jehan was the first to try of course. Since it's still early to check her baby's gender thru ultrasound, she has to wait 3 months to know I'm right (that is if the doctor will tell her the sex cause it's illegal to know the gender of the baby here while you're pregnant).

Chris came shortly after that. We convinced him to eat and chat a little before heading home. It was a long drive to Suwon and I was so tired when we came back home. But I couldn't stop smiling and thinking how fun that Sunday afternoon had been!

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!

Take Your Tastebuds For A Rollercoaster Ride In Gyeongju.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think I'm packing on some serious poundage these days. Maybe it's just PMS bloat, my new haircut, or probably the clothes that make me look a bit chunky. But whatever it is, it's freaking me out, and I can't stop myself from measuring my waist like crazy every single day.

I'm actually pretty good at sticking to my diet when I'm alone. Whenever I feel like binging, I just think of the revolting smell of animal fat in fried chicken or the glistening crust of pizza smothered in oil ~ nothing kills my appetite than that. But when I'm with Chris, it's a different story. It's hard to stick to any form of dieting when all your partner could think about is FOOD. I can't count how many times we argued at HomePlus cause he fills the cart with the things I hate the most. Chris calls it food, I call it lard, trans-fat, and heart-attack-waiting-to-happen wrapped in shiny packaging. He's not like that before, but after he contracted a bad case of flu and lost a lot of weight, he became obsessed with eating. The poundage he lost or that I gained is always a bad news. There's nothing more depressing than seeing myself looking like an elephant while standing beside his skinny-scrawny physique in pictures.

Chris knows how much I deprive myself of food at home, so whenever we travel, he makes it a point to bring me to restaurants that serve really good Korean food (but not the ones that will torture my arteries in the process). And the best thing about Korean food is that you can eat it without guilt. Well, except for their grilled meat dishes, cause the very smell of those is already filled with fat and cholesterol. :)

This is the Sambap restaurant in Gyeongju that Chris brought me to. For those who are planning to visit Gyeongju, I highly suggest you visit this place. I forgot the name, but if it helps, it's located right in front of Daereungwon. There are many Sambap restaurants there, so be sure to look for that tacky arch to know you're in the right place.

An elaborate, sumptuous feast with dishes you can hardly count - how could anyone be disappointed?

This is how you eat Sambap: Get a piece of their blanched vegetable (some are raw), then put meat, rice, and some spicy sauce. Wrap it all together and eat.

This salt-cured fish is one of the side-dishes they served. It reminds me of bagoong. You have to be very careful when you eat this cause it has so many bones. It's also very salty - as in deadly salty it could make your tongue flinch.

And this is chot kal or salted fish innards. In the Philippines, we usually throw the innards, but here they make it as chot kal. It looks disgusting but it has a very interesting taste. One word of caution though.. you must eat it this with a mouthful of rice cause it's salty as hell.

And if you still got room for dessert (which I doubt unless your stomach is as big as a bathtub), try visiting a Chal Bori Bbang store - it's scattered all over Gyeongju. Chal Bori Bbang are mini pancakes made from sticky barley. It's really, really delicious but not in a sugary-sweet kind of way. A box of 20 costs 10,000 won.

All those delicious food equates to insurmountable amount of calories to burn right? The good news is, there are always mountains to climb, and plenty of rivers, waterfalls, valleys and parks to visit after. So don't be afraid to take your tastebuds for a rollercoaster ride when you're in Gyeongju!

Gyeongju And Tales Of The Three Kingdoms.

Even as a kid, I've always been interested in history. It's something Chris and I share in common. This interest probably fuelled my passion for travelling, cause the more I travel, the more I get to learn. And of all the places I've been to in Korea, Gyeongju is the most interesting. Not only is it rich in culture, it also has a very long and colorful history. I'm gonna brush up a little bit of Korea's history. Skip it if it isn't your nap time yet. : )

Gyeongju is the capital of Silla Dynasty. It's one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and the longest sustained dynasty that ruled for almost a thousand years. The other two are Baekje of Cheolla province and Goguryeo of the North (present day North Korea). Although Silla reigned the longest, it wasn't actually the strongest - the strongest being Goguryeo who was founded by Jumong and whose territory extends from present day Jilin, China to Vladivostok, Russia. Silla, although the weakest of the three had several great rulers. One of the most notable person that ruled the Kingdom was Queen Seon Deok. She was the first woman who ruled the Kingdom, and was known for her wit and courage as Silla then was plagued with rebellions and war from Goguryeo and Tang Dynasty of China. She didn't produce an heir so when she died, the throne was passed to her cousin Jin Deok who later became the 28th ruler of Silla and the second woman to rule the Kingdom. Silla's Golden Age came during the reign of King Muyeol who succeeded the throne from Jin Deok. He made an alliance with Tang and defeated Goguryeo and Baekje (the alliance with Tang resulted to Korea losing a big part of their land). Tang expanded it's rule in the North and wanted to establish territories in Baekje, and Silla realizing that, staged a battle that lasted for 10 years to expel all Tang's forces out, and later forming "Unified Silla". It is during this time where Korean arts and the Buddhism culture flourished and can still be seen all over Gyeongju today. Later, descendants from Baekje established Hubaekje, and rebels from the North created Hugoguryeo. Together with Silla, they formed "The Later Three Kingdoms". Unified Silla weakened in time till finally, it surrendered to Goryeo - a successor of Goguryeo. Goryeo also defeated Later Baekje, forming one ruling dynasty in Korea. Goryeo's reign lasted for almost 500 years till it was defeated by Joseon - the last dynasty to rule Korea.

Whew! I didn't know it's tough to summarize the convuluted Korean history in one paragraph! Anyway, let's go back to Silla. When Kings and noblemen of Silla dies, their remains are buried in large tombs. In this picture, you could see some of those large ancient tombs. This place is called Daereung-won.

And this picture is taken at Gyerim Forest Park, just beside Daereung-won. You could see a lot of ancient trees here.

Queen Seon Deok took pride in creating this ancient observatory which dates back from 7th century called Cheomseongdae (Star-gazing Tower). It's one of the oldest scientific installations on Earth. Can you imagine that?

Ok, I didn't watch the popular "Queen Seon Deok" drama (I'm not really crazy about Korean dramas), but I'm guessing not all of the stories there are true. But for what it's worth, I did visit a place where the drama was shot. Here are some picures of those.

Other places I visited in Gyeongju that connect to the ancient dynasty are Anapji, Seokguram and Bulguksa. I wrote an entry about it last year. Read it if you've got time to kill.

If Gyeongju's historical sites are a little too much for you, you could visit this Lake Park in Bomunho.

And when you're legs get tired from pedalling those little duck boats, go treat yourself with a bowl of Patpingsu.

I know this post is boring to some, especially on a Monday morning. For my next posts, I promise to veer away from hardcore history stuff. Hope you all have a chill Monday!

Gyeongju's Finest At Night.

So Buddha's Birthday turned out to be a jam packed, adventure-filled day. And after all those exploring, you would thought we were done for the day, but the riotous adventure we had during daytime was merely the icing of the cake. When we arrived in Gyeongju, adrenaline was still very much pumping, and at 9 pm we were still craving for more. We followed the long beeline of cars going to Anapji. They were doing some sort of a festival there commemorating Buddha's birthday.


I'm not gonna say much as I've already written an entry about this place last year. Just let these photos of insanely beautiful scenery take you for a ride.

By all means, how can you possibly not fall in love with this place?!

Andong's Folklore Park.

Crossing the 387 meter stretch of the Moonlight Bridge led us to a folklore park. It's partly obscured by lush maple trees so we were surprised to find out that such place exists. This folklore park is actually an old village where people lived since the Joseon Dynasty. The old village is located at the far side of the river, and they called their place "Eumdalgol" or Moon Shade Village.

These houses are real and people lived here a long time ago. Weird cause I like this place better than Hahoe - that place is too commercialized anyway. Here, nothing hinders you from exploring the entirety of the house. You could go inside the rooms and sit there provided you're cool with dust and cobwebs. You could still see traces that people did live here like broken pots and pieces of wood they used to heat the floor during winter. The only place I didn't dare to explore was the toilet and we all know why I stayed away from that.

At the front, you could see a sign that says something about the history of the house and the family who lived there. This goes with all the other houses there.

It's really nice when you get to really feel how the ancient Korean people lived, and not just lust for it from afar like in the case of Hahoe. All I got there was a sore neck from looking at their roofs and peeping through their closed gates. And to think they have the audacity to charge entrance fees and parking tickets for that! Here it's totally free, like how it should be.

Our trip to Andong had quite a few disappointments, but there were some cool surprises too. Nevertheless, it gave me a culture fix I couldn't get elsewhere. And to cap our journey, we had a very delicious dinner called "Andong Jjim Dalk". You know what, I can totally live with the few disappointments I had cause this food right here is already worth the visit!

P.S. If you wanna taste the best Andong Jjim Dalk, go visit the old traditional market downtown. Don't let the crabby market place deceive you, cause the restaurants there serve the best dish in town! A plate so huge it could feed 4 hungry people costs 22,000 won. Not bad right?! But for two, it's a hell of a feat trying to finish even half it.