26, 25, 24 - Another Trip Afield

Jetted off to Cebu, in the Philippines for a long weekend away.

Packing shot. My ongoing effort to be organized.

Shot of the "island paradise" the day after we arrived. Apparently, it was a bit cloudy.

The hotel we stayed in.

Magellan's cross. Because it was Sunday (I suppose)

74 - Field Trip!

Packing...

Two for one: sleeping pic + the ubiquitous Asian "take a picture" sign.

NOT the Trevi Fountain

Although it looks like one.

Lotte World!

A major recreation complex in Seoul, South Korea that consists of the world's largest indoor theme park that set a Guinness World Record open all year around, an outdoor amusement park called "Magic Island", an artificial island inside a lake linked by monorail, shopping malls, a luxury hotel, a Korean folk museum, sports facilities, and movie theaters all in one place. (thank you, wikipedia.)

In line for the "Aeronauts Balloon Ride".

The ceiling.

Us IN the balloon.

Sky line.

Mega Ice Skating Rink

Drunken Baskets

Viking-type Ride

View from the top.

The ride warning signs.

Caution: "Not Allowed Pregnant"

Movenpik restaurant "Marche" where we ate dinner. One on (almost) every continent.

75 - Field Trip

Planning a field trip this weekend (despite the torrential rain). Will hopefully be back with a much more informative and interesting post soon!

Weekend Report

Saturday:  

The field trip turned out to be a sojourn to Palgongsan ("san" = "mountain" in Korean).  

It seemed like a massive hike up tons of stairs to me, but I'm sure it was a cinch for the little children and old woman who passed me on the way up. 

I bussed down from my neighborhood to DongDaegu station and met up with Ms. Cruise, her friend K, and K's friends H and P.  P's Korean friend Ricky drove us to the mountain and served as our translator as we worked our way up the mountain, taking several rest, er, photo-op breaks along the way.

Two Korean men were chuckling and pointing as they walked past us.

P (to Ricky): "What'd they just say?"

Ricky: "The one guy said to his friend, 'Foreigners.  Can you speak English?  Quick, try!'

A fresh spring with drinking water.  The water is said to have healing properties from the clay.  Truth or fiction: will we ever know? 

That tiny winding trail in the lower right hand quadrant was the path that we took.  For real.

The Buddhist temple with lanterns at the top of the mountain.

Proof that I actually made it up.  

Sunday:

Had brunch w. co workers at The Holy Grill and took some pictures of the blooming cherry blossom trees.  

Then went on a Sunday walk to explore the area around my flat.  I found another, larger park and what looks like a class-A jogging path for my morning jaunt.  

*Note for the record: 

In recent experience, it seems like the best way to get over the "culture shock" is to get out and interact with the new surroundings as much as possible.  My natural inclination is to isolate, so it takes some effort for me to go out and meet people, but it's so definitely worth it.