Discover Top Posts Tagged with #okcheon

I Am Back In Korea!

My triumphant return to Korea!

So, despite my repeated promises, my insistence that I will change, my best efforts, I haven’t posted on here since the start of the year. Why? Well, several reasons, none of which I will bore you with. But now, I’m back and ready to keep you updated on my exciting life here in Korea once again. (more…)

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#2017 #an englishman in chungbuk #asia #blog #chungbuk #everyday korea #everyday life #korea #korean life #life #life in korea #life update #okcheon #personal #school #south korea #travel #work

Finding windmills in Okcheon, Korea

#Windmills #Wheres Anne #Okcheon

Yongam-sa (Temple) - amazing gorge-hidden "Dragon-Rock Temple", Okcheon, Chungcheongbukdo

#yongamsa #yongam temple #okcheon #chungcheonbukdo #north chungcheong #south korea #autumn #nature #temples

Okcheon to Busan

In Okcheon, we had to meet some of Joes other friends for breakfast bright and early before our train left at 11:30. They met us outside our shady but surprisingly hospitable establishment and drove us to a famous temple where people normally get married. It was definitely a higher class place. We sent down cross legged in front of tables with grills on them but they wouldn't be used for breakfast. Unfortunately I can't go into too much detail of what it was because I'm not even sure but it was traditional Korean breakfast with all the sides which included kimchi our new favorite appetizer. (Pickled cabbage, remember?) Then when the full courses came it out they were soup/stews in clay pots and everyone got there own but there were two different kinds so everyone grabbed some of their neighbors. One was a pork bone soup and you had to grab the bone with chopsticks and eat the meat off. Probably my difficult challenge of chopstick use yet. The other was like a beef soup and it was my favorite. The meat was good but the broth was even better. Thankfully we used spoons for this. We left breakfast recharged. We were full but not overburdened with food. It was a solid full. Joes friend wanted to squeeze in one more stop before our train left so she drove us to the birthplace of the last presidents wife. This place is more famous then normal because the last president is hailed for being responsible for Korea's current economic miracle. It was a monastery with 99 rooms. People functioned day to day inside its walls. It was newly rebuilt by the people of Okcheon to attract tourism but also respect the past presidents heritage. It seemed like our hosts were very proud of this place. I'm assuming it was destroyed during the Korean War like some other points of interest I've heard about this far. We walked around the spaces and saw where the men lived and the women lived. The kitchen areas and what they did with food storage. A "refrigerator" back in those times was a basement in the ground with a small hatch. The kimchi was made in clay pots next to the entrance. Walking further through the establishment, I wandered off from the group up to "a place for resting". It was some uneven stone steps to another entrance to a divided area. There's a bamboo forest on the left that looked newly planted and a small hut at the top of the path. This would look like a spot people would come to to meditate. The full tour was cut short because we had a train to catch. Joes friend drove us to the train station we said our good byes and waited on the platform. We made it with a few minutes to spare. We took the train to Busan. The day was overcast and it was a beach city so we were a little disappointed but we, of course, were going to make the best of it. In Okcheon we heard there was a Chinese festival happening in the Chinatown area of the city so we swung by there on the way to the beach. The area was decorated with red paper lanterns. A large crowd was visible as we walked up to what sounded to me like an older woman singing karaoke on the largest stage she's ever been on. There were vendors selling all sorts of things ranging from rice liquor to clothes, purses and jewelry. We browsed the area and a small parade of people singing and clapping behind a man beating on a drum passed us by. The whole festival reminded me of like a carnival or maybe a small county fair. It was time to put our bags down so we found a hostel and this one was not nearly as shady. We were the only ones on the floor. We dropped our bags out and changed into some shorts and headed to the beach. It was still overcast but the others wanted to get their feet wet. We made our way past several sand sculptures down to the water. It was surprisingly warm but I think it's because I'm used to San Diego! Since we were on the beach we had to get some seafood for lunch. We walked up and down the streets avoiding the restaurants in ideal locations because their prices were considerably higher and we are trying to stay on budget. So far so good. At this point with all the traveling, eating, sleeping, and drinking I was in less than $250. We ordere stir fry octopus and blue crab soup. Mmmm. Stuffed, we walked the board walk in the opposite direction we did earlier. The sun began to set and the dull gray sky turned into a canvas that someone spilled the sun all over. It was beautiful and I took some nice shots I think my sister would be proud of. I among others were taking multiple ones at a time and every picture seemed different than the other one. While everyone was pointed at the sun I felt like I had enough and made my way back up to the path. As I turned I noticed there was a sunset rainbow right behind us. I've never seen a rainbow at sunset and I, camera in hand, started taking pictures of the scene everyone didn't seem to notice. After a few snaps, there was an audible "Ohh!!" It wasn't long until everyone had a sunset rainbow of their own. I knew this would have definitely made my sister proud for stealing this moment first! The sun went down and the beach was even more lively then it was during the day. There were camp fires and firworks up and down the coast. Which was apparently illegal according to the announcements that were being made over the loud speaker but the crowd didn't seem to mind this. It may have actually encouraged them to get rid of the ones they had faster. We made it back to our new home. Our nightlife plan was to go into a club with this phallic looking entrance. Youll see what I'm talking about in the videos. I finished uploading my last video while everyone was getting ready we were off. Our place was less than a block away and we quickly discovered it was closed. The backup plan was also closed. We're not sure why. We spent most the night wandering, googling and asking where to go. It was a few hours later until we found the right place. It was a western style club so it was pretty large in comparison to traditional places here which are small but intimate. I handed my camera to the DJs a few times and got some good footage of the crowd. We got home late, and exhausted. Joe wanted me to carry him and then challenged me to do it across the street. I upped the anty and brought him up 4 floors as well. After that, it was definitely time for a shower and bed.

#okcheon #busan #south korea