All good things must come to an end

After my day on the water, and a refreshing shower, I figured I should devote a little time to the streets of Coron.  I ventured out with my camera, but no real purpose or destination in mind.  On the way out of the Sea Dive resort I ran into our captain from the day, Jam-Jam, who seemed amused when I responded "I don't know" to his question of where I was headed.  If there was a rush hour in Coron I think I ran straight into it, the market and surrounding streets were overflowing with people, many of which appeared to be school kids, recently released from class.  I zig-zaged my way through the rows upon rows of market stalls, covered a few blocks of the center of town and started to head up towards Mt. Tapyas when I ran into Ian, my new friend from the previous days boat. 

Finding my own little patch of paradise

After Loudine's early morning departure it was time for me to do some exploring on my own. I didn't really have any plans for the day but thought I should see what I could do in El Nido, sans money.  Each time we ventured out on a boat I noticed that there was somewhat of a walkway around the coast to the northeast, so I decided to explore.  The path led through some more remote resorts, nestled in amongst the local villages. I got a fair amount of stares, but let's be honest when doesn't that happen in Asia, as I passed by resorts, shops, houses and even a quaint little cemetery. I wanted to keep going along the trail and see how far it would take me, but my stomach thought otherwise.

Random pontoonish boat

School Days and Seoul Ways

The plan for Wednesday was for the three of us to get up early and have Joonwoo drop us at the bus terminal before heading to work himself.  That was the plan at least, upon waking up I realized that I really was not up for a trip to Gyeongju. I though tagging along wouldn't be too bad, I could skip the temple (seriously they're all looking pretty similar these days) and then join in for some afternoon bike riding and finish the day with dinner with some of my Gyeongju friends. But then I found out my friends were busy and I realized I was dead tired, instead I left my brother and Katie detailed instructions on how to survive on their own, made my way home and slept for another 3 hours :) it was lovely.  I met them back at the bus station that evening and it turns out they did just fine on their own.  Joonwoo must have liked us because he canceled the plans he had with a friend and joined us for dinner instead, Gamjatang yummmmm.  That night we took it easy, showered, set up a nice floor bed for those two in my shoebox of an apartment and prepared for school the next day. 

Group picture with class 1-3

오빠와 여친 한국에 왔어!

If you read my blog regularly (or more likely are a family member) you'll know that my brother came to visit almost exactly one year ago. I guess Korea made a good impression on him because he decided to come back for round 2, and this time bring his girlfriend Katie along for the ride.  Actually I think it might have been her desire to come that fueled their visit. Katie previously taught in Japan for two years so she's familiar with the foreigner teacher/living in Asia lifestyle. Unfortunately she didn't get the chance to stop in Korea while on this side of the world, but that worked out in my favor, more visitors!  Unfortunately my brothers boss wouldn't give him an additional Friday (very necessary for across the glob travel) so they duo arrived late on a Sunday night.  On the plus side they were able to score a RT flight arriving in Busan and departing from Seoul, maximizing the amount of Korea they'd be able to see. I'm lucky to work for an awesome school that allows flexibility with my schedule so I made the trip to Busan early Sunday to relax at the beach before going to meet my visitors at the airport. 

Gwangalli 'Diamond' Bridge 

Getting some Culture and Nature in Daegu

The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. Last week my brother and his girlfriend Katie were here for a visit so I spent some time before that preparing for their arrival.  Last weekend I had to meet them in Busan on Sunday night so I decided to stay closer to home and explore Daegu on Saturday.  I kept seeing cool pictures on Facebook and Instagram recently and finally discovered that they were coming from the new exhibit at the Daegu Art Museum.  If you've been keeping up you'll know that I went there a few months ago with my friend Sara but seeing as the exhibitions had changed I decided another visit was in order. Pretty cool that the museum always has something new to offer so you can't really get away with the excuse of oh I've been there before. 

혼자이에요?

The heat is officially gone, the leaves are starting to change,and  temperatures are dropping. There may be a slight lack of pumpkin spice and football in my life but fall is officially upon us.  The weather has been perfect for the past few weeks, cool in the mornings and evenings but still sunny and beautiful during the day. After being introduced, by my co-workers, to a new patch of beautiful here in Buksam I decided to take advantage of the beauty that surrounds me and spend my Saturday in the mountains.  I know I've mentioned it before, more than once, but i'm surrounded by beauty in this country. Gumi isn't really known for much, in fact when foreigners are asked "What's the best part about Gumi?"  \a popular response is, "It's easy to get out", but we do have a pretty sweet mountain.  Geumosan shadows over my home and conveniently there's a few paths from Buksam heading up the back side.  Last friday my co-workers introduced me to a new starting point so on Saturday I decided it was time to explore.

A Trip to the Valley

Despite the fact that I've gone somewhere every weekend for the past month I was feeling the itch to get out of town last weekend.  The summer heat has set in so something refreshing sounded ideal, preferably with water included.  I've heard from many students and friends about weekends in the valley so figured I should take advantage of these magical places and go find one for myself.  I recruited my friend Sara (always up for an adventure) to join me, and also asked Shaun if he wanted to tag along.  

Welcome to 문경

Back to Malaysia

One long, cold, uncomfortable bus ride later I found myself on the island portion of Penang, Malaysia.   One of the few down sides to taking overnight buses is that you find yourself in the next city at the wee hours of the morning.  I had made arrangements with my next couchsurfing host but my phone decided to make my day and chose not to work thus leaving me stranded and confused at the bus terminal.  I decided to get a taxi into town where I could find some wifi and send John and email.  I think the taxi drivers in Penang might have been some of my favorite people along this trip - super friendly, talkative and kind, A+!  After killing some time at Gloria Jeans I managed to contact John and was soon in his car getting a high speed introduction to Penang - first stop, Cendol, John wasn't messing around. 

Famous Cendol stand 

Bako National Park

Finally by Monday, a week after my arrival in Malaysia, I decided it was time to venture out on my own. Richard dropped me off at the visitor center where I booked a room and got the bus information to head out for an overnight trip to Bako National Park.  I enjoyed being show around town and treated to many things I otherwise may not have experience but I was ready for some alone time and a little bit more nature.  The journey to the park involved an hour bus ride followed by a half hour boat ride. I arrived at the jetty around 12pm but to my dismay was told that i'd have to wait until 1:30 for the tide to rise, with nothing but a small coffee/snack shop to entertain me the time passed a bit slow, but I was in no rush, after all this was vacation. The boat fare was 47RM regardless of the amount of people so I was excited when 3 other travelers turned up to split the cost with me. 

The ride was enjoyable, if not a bit scary, I've come to realize i'm not the biggest fan of water related activity - I found myself with a death grip more than once during the trip. Two of the others in my boat were only staying for the day so they quickly took off to explore the park, leaving me with the guy from the UK whose name seems to have slipped my mind, we'll call him Rob. Anyway, we checked into our rooms, got some lunch (which Rob generously shared with the monkeys) and made our way out on the Pandan Besar/Kecil trail.  The estimated time was about 3 hours round trip which gave us plenty of time, including a stop at the beach.

"No Smoking" really?

Pandan Besar 

The night didn't hold much in terms of excitement, but I was expecting much from a National park. Rob and I hung out in the canteen sharing travel stories before heading to bed around 10:30, party animals for sure. I have to say one of the best parts of this park was that the accommodation (dorm room) was only 15RM (about $3) and there was no one else booked in my room so I basically had a log cabin to myself. The next morning we were up early, one of the first to the cafeteria for breakfast and soon after out on the trails. This time we chose the Lintang trail which made a nice loop of the grounds. About 6km, estimated to take around three and a half hours it sounded like a good task for the day.

Wild Boars

Proboscis Monkey

Perks of a hiking partner - action shots

Carnivorous pitcher plants

Feeling ambitious we also decided to add the Paku trail to the end of our hike, basically because it promised another beach at the end. This trail was even more up and down than the last and my knees were starting to scream at me, but still the scenery was enjoyable. Plus being the closest trail to the headquarters there were hikers of all ages, shapes and sizes along the way - I couldn't really give up or complain when there were old women along side me.  We soon reached the beach and couldn't get in the water fast enough! The tide was low so there wasn't much swimming to be done but the water was perfect and the view was gorgeous. Realizing that the headquarters was just around a rock ledge and the tide being so low we decided to trek back through the water, a much faster and easier route than the jungle we took in. 

Telok Assam beach 

quick swim around those rocks 

My two days at the park were just what I wanted, plus the added bonus of my hiking buddy rob who provided good entertainment for the trip. I got my dose of nature, exercise and animals before returning back to wrap up my visit to Kuching.

I Think I'll Stay

Only a few days in and I knew that I had made the right choice by starting my vacation in Kuching. The people, food, sights, yoga....everything was awesome, the only thing I could've asked for was a bit more sun - but that's what you get when you plan a vacation during the rainy season.  Thursday morning came and we were off on another adventure, this time headed for Gunung Gading National Park. The main attraction at this park is the Rafflesia flower which can grow up to one meter in diameter (and i'm told) is pretty impressive. Unfortunately the flower blooms pretty much whenever the hell it wants to, with no particular season, and only lasts for 4 to 5 days. We figured the drive would be worth it even if the flower wasn't blooming considering the park is huge and has multiple hikes, some including waterfalls.

Torii torii torii

The next morning as I showered I heard pots and pans clattering in the kitchen and was a bit surprised when I came out to a full spread for breakfast which Haruka had prepared. Such a fantastic host - and did I mention she insisted I take the bed while she slept on the floor mat? Too nice. I was soon out the door and on my way back to Kyoto station via bus (which yes, to the dismay of my Korean co-workers, I was able to navigate by myself). Today's main objective was to make it to the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, so I set this as my first destination.  The shrine is one of the most visited in Japan and notably so as it contains over 5000 orange torri gates, winding through the hills behind the shrine. 

Entrance gate to the shrine

After wandering the hills for a few hours I decided I should probably try to make my way back to town, there was still plenty to see in Kyoto! I strolled back through the shops outside the shrine and was sure to buy some green tea ice cream, which was delicious, before finding the bus home.  It was still another 20 minutes before the bus came so I decided to wander a bit, eventually making my way to the next stop down the street, thankfully I'm easily entertained and my camera provided me with entertainment in the interim.

I got back to Kyoto station around 3:30 which left me plenty of time to visit one more temple (as most of them close by 5pm).  Due to numerous suggestions from friends I set me sights on Rokuon-ji temple, which is home to the famous Kinkaku (Golden pavilion), named a World Heritage site in 1994. The temple is a zen Buddhist temple and the garden and buildings are said to represent the Pure Land of Buddha. To be honestly I was considering passing this stop but boy am I glad I didn't, the temple really was a sight to see.

I was planning to meet Haruka for dinner at 7:30 so I still had some time to kill before heading back to the station.  Although the Imperial Palace closes at 5pm I decided that it would still be worth it to take a walk around the palace gardens, plus it was free! The garden was HUGE and actually a bit eerie as the sun began to set.  There were still many people walking, running and biking around the park, but as it got dark I decided to make my way to the well lit streets of the city. 

Although the sun had set, I saw my fill of Kyoto and had been walking all day, I decided to continue with my marathon tour of Japan and walk back to the station.  I had time before my planned meeting with Haruka, so why not? It was a straight shot to the city so I had no fears of getting lost along the way, plus it gave me a chance to experience the city away from all of the tourists.  I arrived just in time to meet Haruka and we then proceed to find a sushi restaurant for dinner.  YUM I'd go back to Japan tomorrow just to eat some fresh, delicious, non-Korean style sushi.  Although it was short trip, accompanied by a typhoon, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Kyoto. I said goodbye to Haruka and made my way to yet another overnight bus, this time en route for Hiroshima. 

Geumosan on Crack

After a few weekends of adventure I decided it was time for me to stay closer to home for once. Originally I was hoping to catch some of my students playing soccer but their game turned into practice so that was no longer the plan. Friday night was spent at Loudine's house watching "What to Expect when you're expecting" eating pizza and drinking wine, i'm beginning to really enjoy these movie nights.  I had been texting Shaun (the newbie in town) about the Packer vs Bears game - yeah he's from Chicago and of course, a Bears fan.  At some point during our conversation we decided we were going hiking the next morning, always up for a challenge I decided we'd try the hike behind my house annnnd take it all the way to Gumi.

Map of our route - bottom right corner to the biggest peak (red rectangle)

Fighting!

A few weeks ago I got a facebook invite from an old La Crosse friend Mitch, who is currently teaching in Seoul.  He's been here since August and since then has spent a few weekends exploring and hiking throughout Korea, this time he was trying to get a group together to takel Jirisan home to the second highest peak in Korea (the first being on Jinju island).  Now i'm a pretty active person but since being in Korea I haven't had many major athletic challenges or ways to test my endurance, none the less this invite spiked my curiosity.  Two weeks later and I roped my friends Sara and Amanda into coming along for the ride, Friday night hit and Sara and I were on our way to Jinju to meet up with Mitch and Amanda, before starting our early Saturday morning adventure.

Tom meet Geumosan

Saturday morning came and along with it great hiking weather, as promised we were headed for Geumosan. We caught the bus from my apartment to the station, grabbed a quick breakfast and some snacks for the hike; rather than waiting for the bus we opted for a quick taxi ride to Geumosan.  The base of Geumosan has a beautiful park area, lake and small amusement park - but we bypassed those pretty quickly, our eyes were sent on the mountain.  The first leg of the hike is pretty easy, clear paths and staircases, this is the part where you'll see small children and the occasional woman in heels. I'm telling you Korean woman never miss an opportunity to dress up, but this is one outfit/activity combo I will never understand. I'm assuming most of these woman are just making their way to the waterfall where they'll enjoy a picnic lunch with family, but really are the heels necessary? Do you hope to break your ankle, or do you just enjoy making things difficult for yourself?

Geumosan X 3

I was about to say I'm lucky enough to be living close to a great hiking spot - but in Korea I don't really think that's abnormal. Geumosan provincial park is basically in my backyard, however to get there I have to take two lovely buses. One to the train station and then another up to the base of the park.  The base of Geumosan includes "Geumoland' which, as one of my students puts it is "the worlds smallest amusement park".  I've yet to check it out but it seems to be more for little kids - lots of smaller rides, midway games and food, although in the winter there is an ice skating rink and toboggan hill so maybe I'll go then.  

The main hike up Geumosan includes a few different things to stop and see along the way.  It begins with the cable car office (where you can pay roughly $5 for a ride halfway up the mountain), next is the fortress wall and small temple, then the waterfall, or detour to the cave. This is a common stopping point for many but for those that continue there is a stone Buddha carving, pavilion and finally the summit (although I've yet to reach any of these).