This past week was Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving. Although it is a family holiday, I kind of expected a Korean friend or co-worker to invite me to their house to celebrate. I mean, that's what I would do if they were visiting America. No one did, so I made the best out of a long weekend since cousin Teresa didn't come to visit. First, I went on another Seoulmate tour around some traditional markets. The markets were hectic since people were buying food to prepare for Chuseok. It was still nice to go in be in the middle of it all. We ate some delicious jeon, which are different foods fried in egg coating. While we were eating the guides taught us some Korean drinking games. Then, we went to another market which was more like a flea market. We made fans and mirrors and played a game of truth or dare. It was like being in high school/college again...but the fun part of it.
Then, I rested for a day. The next day, I had to get out of the house so I decided to just tour Seoul on my own. I went to Jongmyo Shrine to walk around and from there I walked to Insadong. It was so empty in the city so I had so much freedom to roam around. Then, I walked along Cheonggyecheon stream which is beautiful and tranquil at night. They have laser light shows, a photo gallery under one of the bridges and an illuminated waterfall at the end of the stream.
The next day, I went with Suzy and another friend, Daniel, to explore some of the smaller islands of Incheon. We took the train, then a bus/taxi to the ferry dock, and finally a 10 minute ferry to the islands. The islands are Sindo, Sido and Modo all connected by small bridges. When we arrived, it was low tide so there was a lot of mud fields around the islands. By the time we left it was high tide again and it was all filled in with water which I found to be miraculous. On Modo Island there is a Baemikkumi sculpture park filled with erotic statues made by famous artist, Lee Il Ho. It was such a gorgeous day! Later on, I met up with Anakaren to celebrate her real birthday. We ate dinner and went for some karaoke which is always nice...well usually. I learned this time around that not Karaoke rooms are nice and comfortable. I still look forward to going to the famous karaoke place in Hongdae or one where you can also play Wii. I remember playing a dancing game with my roommate back in America and I was surprised at how much fun it was! Or I can just buy the game and have a house party here...we'll see.
The last day of Chuseok, I finally got to go to EVERLAND amusement park. I was so excited because I love amusement parks but haven't been to one in almost 2 years. They were also running a special promotion for foreigners where tickets were half price! I went with Anakaren and I was so relieved that she wasn't scared to ride the rides. We took a bus from Incheon directly to this big park with fake Disney-like characters. The park had a special Halloween theme which is very funny because Korea doesn't really celebrate Halloween. We weren't able to see all of it, like the animal park, but we did get on the most popular rollercoaster, T Express. Even though there were not as many people as usual because of the holiday, it was still enough for the line wait times to be 40 minutes to 1.5 hours...like normal back home. At night there was a parade and what was real interesting about this parade is that the characters were all foreigners! It was so much fun.
Now summer can end with no regrets.
