This weekend I was lucky enough to have Monday off, because October 15 is our school's founding day, so a holiday is given. I took full advantage of the extra day and crammed a lot of sightseeing into one weekend, starting with Friday night. I met up with my friend Elizabeth in downtown, and then we caught up with another friend and his new Korean friends. The seven of us headed on a trek out of the pulsing heart of downtown, following narrow alleys to a low key Korean bar. We drank makgeolli (Korean rice wine) mixed with cider (basically like Sprite) and played Korean drinking games. It was really fun, especially because it reminded me of the evening my Korean friend from home made a huge dinner for us and taught us Korean drinking games. We played: Sam Yuk Goo (3, 6, 9) a game in which you say numbers out loud in a circle, but have to clap any time a number has a 3, 6 or 9, so 13 would be a clap, etc.; Gong Gong Chil Bang (007, bang) a game where you pretend to shoot people like James Bond, hence the 007, and have coordinating motions to go along; and the Stand Up game, in which everyone has to stand up and say a number, but if more than one person stands up for the same number, everyone drinks. We also learned the song people burst into when cheering on someone to drink, but I haven't quite mastered it yet. After drinking makgeolli and eating lots of food (spicy chicken, pajeon aka onion pancake, tangerines, and other side dishes) we headed to a Norabang for some karaoke. It was the first time I have gone norabanging in Korea, so it was fun to get out and sing! But it's a bit tough with a split group of Koreans and foreigners, because half the crowd really can't sing the song (i.e. we chose English songs, they chose Korean ones). After singing our lungs out, I decided to head home instead of dancing (wait, who am I?... don't worry, here's why) because it was about 3:30 a.m. and I needed to get up in about 4 hours to get ready for our trip the next day.
On Saturday I went to Jinju with Elizabeth and Lindsey to watch some bullfighting and check out the Jinju Lantern Festival. Sadly, the only bulls we saw were ones pictured on the side of the stadium. My guidebook led us astray, because there were not bullfights every Saturday as it so boldly proclaimed. There had been a bullfighting festival the weekend before, so we had just missed it! It was disappointing, but there was a lake nearby, so we hiked up to it and enjoyed the beautiful view. Later that night we went to the river for the lantern festival, which was indeed happening. It was absolutely beautiful! The three of us made our own lanterns and sent them into the river with our wishes. It was a pretty simple festival and could definitely have been done as a day trip, but we had already booked our motel, so we took our time wandering through the lights and enjoyed delicious pizza at an adorable Italian restaurant. Accommodations for the weekend booked up quickly, so we went ahead and got a two-person room for three people. But we made it work! We slept sideways on the bed and actually had quite a bit of room, though our feet did hang off of the bed. But it was a nice room and I got a good night of sleep. And the best part, the bed vibrated, so we had a nice massage in the morning (obviously that wouldn't be fun to try to sleep to).
Sunday we headed straight back to Daegu after waking up and getting ready. We decided to spend the gorgeous afternoon and Suseong Lake. It was a nice area, but for some reason I expected a much bigger lake. But it didn't disappoint, because duck boats abounded, and of course we took one for a spin. It was quite a workout, but a fun way to experience the lake. As we passed fellow duck boat users, we became instant, fleeting friends and shared friendly 안녕하세요s (hellos). Later we went to Ganga for dinner and had tasty Indian food. We had spinach paneer (my favorite!), tandoori chicken and garlic naan. It cost a pretty penny, but it was good. We then trekked over to the airplane turned coffee shop that was overlooking the lake. I've had many a cup of coffee in airplanes, but someone this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up! The coffee was yummy (I haven't come across a bad cup of Joe yet) and it was fun sitting in the cockpit. But the inside was a bit stuffy, so we took our drinks to the patio upstairs and reveled in the delightful weather and stunning view of the lake. After the lake we headed to Camp Walker, a U.S. army base in Daegu, on a mission to find the other gate into the post (I had already found one). We walked around the post, but sadly came to a dead end. I figure army bases have great businesses outside the main gates that cater to foreigners, so I wanted to check out what there was nearby. I actually found some good businesses outside Gate 4, but I still want to find out what Gate 6 has to offer. It was a bit disappointing, but there is still time to track it down. So we just headed on home.
Gatbawi
It was quite the hike!
Bullo-dong Tomb Park
Today (Monday) I headed up to the northeastern part of Daegu to visit the famous Gatbawi stone Buddha. It was way more of a hike than I was expecting, but I was happy to get some exercise in with my sightseeing. I climbed so many stairs; I didn't think it would ever end. But I managed to make it to the top, and some some spectacular views of Daegu below. And the Buddha itself was quite magnificent. After making it back down the mountain, I went to the nearby traditional market and to Bullo-dong Tomb Park. The tombs are grass-covered hills all congregated in the park. Most have no marker or tombstone, and so just look like an interestingly shaped piece of land. It was a serene area and actually a nice place for a stroll. You just can't think about all of the bodies below the ground! I wrapped up my evening by visiting a recommended Vietnamese restaurant that had really tasty pho. I was also able to buy some cilantro and limes, two things that are hard to find else where. I paid about $1 per lime, but a girl had to have her favorite citrus... and I only got two! I have some avocados and home, so I certainly plan on making some really delicious avocado. I am definitely looking forward to that. So clearly I had a very busy weekend, but it was nice to be able to see so many different places, and to get a better feel for what's in my own city as well.
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