Caribbean Bay

With my son visiting in the heat of summer, I finally grabbed the opportunity to visit a major waterpark here in South Korea, Caribbean Bay. Above you see the entrance and hordes of Koreans waiting for the gates to open - this happens at 9:30 - and since we got there at 8:45 I don't want to know what time they got up!

Sean waiting patiently in line!

Peanut-buttered squid and bottled coffee - these Koreans are crazy~

Avast mateys, and it's oh hi Rio, away we sail, and we're bound for the wild sea, never to fail!

Sean and I had a lot of fun - the park has many indoor and outdoor attractions, including a lot of water slides down which you can scoot either on a tube or, as the Koreans put it, body slide. The most spectacular of these tube runs is a thing called the Boomerango, a huge orange construction that sends four people in a big raft down a steep incline to shoot up a wall, down again and into a pool. I did not take the camera on these rides, it not being waterproof, but we discovered on our way out that you can buy waterproof bags for your camera.

So, we will be back and this time we'll document the slides and rides!

Suwon

Suwon city is, like a lot of the cities in South Korea, a blend of the old and new, and I'd like to share some photos of the Hwasung fortress - a stone wall that runs around a large part of Suwon and preserves the pavilions and the palace from the Joseon dynasty.

Here is a typical guards' pavilion - high above the surrounding countryside (unfortunately it was very misty day so you are not able to see the panorama it commands), and with a belfry housing a bronze bell with which to signal the alarm.

This is the training centre where the guards were drilled and practiced their archery. The Korean bow is very springy and the archery technique is quite different from the modern techniques. 

In the picture below you can see the wall, part of the fortress, where you tie your prayers and wishes for the gods to answer. Embroidered silk bags house each prayer, and I'm not sure if the opulence of the bag has anything to do with how quickly you'll be answered!

This is me in front of the main pavilion, pretty much where the captain of the guard would be during the shift, and from where he would co-ordinate any battle. 

Shown in this picture  is the main gate to the fortress and the wall extending to both sides.

You can walk along the top of the wall, a nice hike of about 10 kilometres, and it gives you some idea of what the Great Wall of China must be like.

If you're ever in Suwon, take the city tour and experience some of this for yourself.

Harbour Festival, morning walks and cooking class

This morning was quite misty, and the walk to school took me past a place where quite a few buildings have been demolished and/or altered, and amid the pile of rubble I spotted this delicate pink flower. Unconcerned with where it is, it blooms there, creating beauty for me, the passer-by.

And then, of course, I just had to take this shot of the sun rising through the mist, catching the bare branches of the last trees still not decked out in new leaves.

Yesterday afternoon, the whole school went to the Korean Boat festival at Jeong Gok Harbour. And there I spotted this very earnest oarsman, really putting his back into making his paddle boat race around the man-made pond!

A view of the harbour with two tall ships in background.

And finally, the results of the cooking class we had yesterday morning. We made Mexican Chicken Nachos. This was what it should have looked like, instead we had some really disgusting messes and some fairly presentable but still not quite there attempts.

One funny thing though, even though they used Korean chilies and Korean hot sauce, the food was 'too spicy' for them!

Korean Folk Village

So I took the mad American to the Korean Folk Village on the last Sunday in May - a wonderful sunny day where the sun shone and we could really say 'nalshiga chosumnida' (weather good).

Here he is - above dressed up as a policeman from the historical period of the Joseon dynasty, and below getting in some quiet time next to the river.

As for me, here I get into posing match with a very symbolic piece of sculpture. It's supposed to represent knowledge!

One of the intricately carved roofs which, luckily, are still a feature of temples in South Korea and so is still practiced by craftsmen.

One of the typical traditional dwellings.

To anyone wanting to visit South Korea, walking around this place is great - very serene and with a lot of memorable stopping places.

...and I'm the one who...

My good friend Scot, shown above during our trip to Paju for the braai, has mastered enough Hangul to have confident conversations with quite a number of Koreans.

Being a warrior and knight, he came to rescue of a Korean damsel in distress by tongue lashing a group of servicemen (?) who were making rather rude comments and catcalling her.

'So who are you to tell us to stop?'

'I'm the guy that will kick your ass and, I'm the only one who'll be able to talk to the cops when they turn up, buddy!'

Chosumnida!

Weird food

Isn't it strange how we regard certain foods as 'weird'.

And it doesn't have anything to do with nutritional values, either. Instead we have little quirks of taste or texture or, more usually appearance and smell.

For me, anything that has a soft yet rubbery texture is weird - I don't eat bananas for that reason, nor pumpkin, and I also stay away from the jelly and aspic side of life. Yet, there are exceptions - a nice trifle layered with cake, jelly, custard and cream is a delight! I also don't like eating any of the molluscs - I like the flavour they give to a soup, but let me bite into one of those rubbery, frondy little critters and the nausea starts.

For most of my Korean friends and students, the smell of lamb, the taste of it and the appearance is weird.

So I was wondering - what is your pet peeve in the food world? What do you eat that others consider disgusting?

What have you learnt to eat that you wouldn't consider when you were younger?

I've added prawns and mushrooms to my palette, while my daughter will, these days, eat an egg occasionally. My son still refuses ginger, but has embraced the world of hurts locked up in chili peppers! 

Suicide...

Of course the biggest news in South Korea right now is the death by suicide of former President Roh. He and his family were under investigation for bribery, corruption etc. stemming from his time in office and his campaigns before that.

I've had a couple of experiences with suicides, and while it may take the person doing it out of whatever problems they are having, it leaves behind a lot more. But then, they are taking care of present and future problems in this very final way, so the argument that you are leaving behind more problems for those who love you will hardly count.

The worst one I experienced was a colleague at the Boksburg works of ELB who hung himself from the crane in the store, and at such a time that it was almost sure to be his family who would find him, not his colleagues. He was going through a bitter divorce, and I'm sure, expected his wife to walk in to find him. Instead, she sent in their daughter of six. You can imagine the rest.

So, Roh Moo-hyun, you felt that the whole situation was too much, and so you climbed the hill, found a cliff, and jumped. I hope your family copes with their problems. And I hope they forgive you the pain of your death.