Things I've Learned about Japan

Later than I anticipated, but here it is. Another country, another list. I worry that my time spent in Korea and other nearby Asian countries confounds some of the characteristics that are still unique apart from my childhood and adolescence in Ontario... If you need an intro, see my two previous posts on Osaka or The Geisha.

Early Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto

1. Convenience Store Power-up
Similar to what I saw last year when I visited Taiwan, I found that the convenience store is on a whole other level than the convenience stores in Korea or back home in Canada. You can get train or bus tickets; tickets to some museums; scan, print or photo copy documents; use a free toilet and wifi (in some locations); and get small grocery items or bento boxes. While we did visit the grocery store a couple of times for a bit more variety in selection of bento boxes, many 7-elevens, Family Marts or Lawsons provided us with what we were looking for. AKA: lots of mochi.

Noodle Sandwich anyone?

2. Picnic Like a Pro

Inokashira Park, Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo for the peak of cherry blossom season and found the parks packed with tourists and locals alike every day. Why weren't they at work? I wondered. My friends told me that because it is cherry blossom season, big companies host picnics together. Interns are tasked with claiming a spot early in the day, laying down the mats, and then waiting patiently until the others later arrive bringing catered sandwiches, pizza, chicken and booze.

Taking a selfie next to a pro-box picnic group. (Ueno Park, Tokyo)

Some parks had signs saying no tables or tents, but the really creative people got around this through the use of boxes. I wish my company would throw a cherry blossom picnic!

Picnics for days! (Yoyogi Park, Tokyo)

3. The Garbage Can?
I remember reading a couple abstracts/summaries from psychological human interest websites that have implied that visible garbage cans make people produce more litter and trash and I can see the logic. I suppose that's one of the reasons Japan is known to be super clean: Public garbage cans don't exist. Some subway stations might have a recycling can or two, but many don't. If you get a coffee or drink to-go, you might come to regret it later.

While this can be a positive in deterring people from producing trash, it also has a fallback on what is thrown out or recycled: I never knew where or how. And there are a lot of tourists. I can't imagine that everything is being thrown out in the most recyclable manner if there are other people like me who can't read or find the instructions and thus just toss garbage in any bin that they find. For the cherry blossom parks, some had huge bins available labelled with different categories, in English even, but if I didn't live in Korea, I wouldn't have known what Vinyl was. What was the difference between non-combustible and some of the plastics/recyclables? Walking further down the lane you could see the huge dump sites where they gathered trash at the end of the day. Did they bother to sort it again?

Pros and Cons, I suppose.

4. The heated Toilet
My bottom has officially been spoiled. All I want forever is to perch upon a warm throne as I'm taking care of business.

One of our hostels part way through did not have the heated seat, and I felt a moment of loss. When it's a bit chilly out, that brief warmth as you find relief does much to soothe the soul.

5. Wait in the Queue
Everywhere we went, we would see queues outside restaurants, cafes and other establishments. Sometimes they were only a couple people long, but other times, they were massive with at least an hour wait, maybe more. Certain ramen shops, for instance, have people lining up at all hours of the day, even for breakfast (source: Personal Interview with our Japanese friend).

Were the restaurants and attractions really worth the wait? Or were they waiting because others were waiting first? The Jury's still out on this one...

Fuji Mountain across Lake Kawaguchiko

6. The Incredible Fujisan
A part of my heart belongs to the mountains, I know this already from living on Jeju island with Hallasan in my backyard. Of everything we did in Japan, our day trip to Fujisan is in the top three. We had lovely weather, if a little hazy, and easily saw Mt. Fuji from the distance as our bus wove through post card-perfect valleys. I wish we had had the time to do more day trips away from the big cities!

Mt. Fuji and Cherry Blossoms!

Bicycle rental stores were very close to Lake Kawaguchiko's bus/train station, although more expensive than anywhere else that we went (1500 JPY for a day! Some other places were 500 JPY. Also side note: If you are tall, try the bike out a bit before you commit, they are mainly designed for Japanese people and as such, not all shops carry bigger bikes). The day was warm and it was a beautiful ride around the lake. There are different attractions and things to do, but we opted for a carefree circuit and attempted picnic along the lakeside trail (Next time we would choose our food more wisely).

There are five lakes around Mount Fuji that draw in tourists. They say the best time to see the reflection of the mountain is either early morning or in the evening and unfortunately, by the time we arrived, there was a constant ripple across the surface. Still, the mountain was stunning and we snapped more pictures than we needed. Our only regret was perhaps our limited time. We had trouble booking tickets online and ended up buying more last minute. The earliest bus out and the latest bus back only gave us 4.5 hours there. Shayna and I agreed that spending a night if you can would be so worth it.

I definitely want to go back during another season to see how the lake-side scenery changes. Who knows, maybe I'll even try to climb the mountain one summer during open season?

But for now,

Love & Hugs

Japan, At Last

During the spring when I was seven years old, a magical event happened at my school. Teachers transformed their classrooms from the mundane desk/work centers to far off places. They hung up photos of breathtaking scenery, wore strange clothing, brought in interesting food, and taught weird games. In essence, they brought us the world.

For seven-year-old me who only knew the names of a handful of countries at the time (probably mainly Canada, the US, France, England, Australia, New Zealand and of course Africa. Because to a seven-year-old in NA, Africa is a country, sorry. ) it was as if the sun had broken through clouds of grey. My spectrum of colour had grown exponentially and I was seeing new shades between shades.

Of all the rooms I visited on our international day, the only one I really remember was that of my to-be grade two teacher, Mlle. M. She came wearing an authentic kimono from her own time in Japan and had pictures of Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms and fireworks by the Tokyo Tower displayed around the room. I wish I could regale you with her stories of traveling around the country and experiences in Japan, but honestly those are the clearest details that I remember. I do remember, however, being so enamored by this country so different from my own that I promised myself that I would someday get to Japan.

Funny how one day, one short activity from my school day in grade 1 could leave such a lasting impression, eh?

Growing up, my favourite TV programs and movies were related to the Japanese style of animation--the best ones coming translated from the original Japanese. I'd watch certain shows over and over again. I'm pretty sure I could act out Kiki's Delivery Service. My sister and I watched the VHS so much it at last broke. In school, when possible I did projects related to Japanese culture including a study of Ancient Japan in grade 5 focusing on Japanese mythology, weapons, and the samurai and then later an essay regarding the Nanjing/Nanking Massacre in University.

In a lot of ways, Japan was always somewhere in my thoughts, even if not directly in my path. Someday, I would get there, I thought.

At last, here I am. Sitting in the Jeju airport. My flight leaves for Osaka in about 40 minutes, boarding in 20. I've heard nothing but good things from friends who've gone, but I still can't help being nervous. Have I been staring at this country through rose-coloured glasses? Will my vision shatter to pieces around my feet as I set step into this country that I've wanted to visit for the last 19 years?

I suppose it's time to find out; on my way from the land of morning calm to the land of the rising sun. 

Love and Hugs

Things I've learned on a Cruise

I think it’s important to go out on adventures and try new things. That being said… If I didn’t, I suppose I would never have packed up my life and moved across the world to Korea. Ha. But that is neither here nor there.

View of the Ruby Princess from the Port of San Diego

Last week, one of my friends from high school got married on a cruise ship. After scrounging up pennies and time off, a couple of us decided to partake in the fan fare that is a cruise wedding. It was quite an interesting experience and the wedding was both lovely and fun. As is the trend with my other adventures, here’s what I’ve learned about:

Inside of the ship in the "Piazza"

1. Demographics
Sarrah, Jaslyn and I were unsure whether it was the trip we picked (down the Californian Coast), the company (Princess Cruises, a more upscale-fancy cruise line), or the price (which was probably a huge factor), but whatever the causal factors, we were in the minority. Most of the guests on the boat could be our grandparents—and some even told us as much. We met some lovely people, but at the same time, it would have been nice to hangout and mingle with people more of our own age. We also recognize that with the reality of student debt and the post-uni job hunting struggles, that for our generation, cruises are not the top priority. Ha.

2. Fatal Foods
It never stops. You can eat 24 hours. You can go to a buffet, you can get pizza, you can get burgers, you can get never ending ice cream and dessert. Ugh. Seriously. I can’t believe how much food you have at your beck and call and I will admit it grossed me out a bit. One of the wedding guests told me about how she was waiting for an elevator with a group of the bridal party post-wedding night. They had just finished a nice meal all together and were heading back to their rooms. The elevator came and they couldn’t quite all fit with the current occupants. One of the other guests inside motioned for a couple more to push in and she said, “Oh, I know it can hold 18 people,” referencing the sign inside. The man shook his head and replied, “Nah, we’re halfway through the cruise now. It only holds 10.”

View toward the Stern of the ship.

There is one dominant body type on this ship as well.

Sarrah, Jaslyn and I opted to take the stairs when we could.

In other food news, we found the food kind of bland (again betraying the main demographic on the boat, we think), and Jaslyn had some trouble with vegetarian options, but the service was amazing.

3. Service
The wait staff were amazing and deserve mention all on their own. They were always on point (in all areas of the ship, not just related to food) and super helpful. Sarrah needed to make a last minute dress alteration and in no time at all we were provided with a needle and thread. Every day they would make our beds (a little overkill we thought, but hey), bring fresh towels and vacuum. I really hope they like their job and that they do not secretly hate the passengers—but then even if they did, they kept it close to the vest and I wouldn’t have been able to tell. Also the staff was very international with countries from all over the world represented.

Me, Sarrah and Jaslyn

4. at Sea VS at Port
Jaslyn, Sarrah and I are quick to claim status as "land lubbers" despite the usual insulting connotation. Our favourite part of the cruise was being at port. We were itching to get off the boat and explore the different locations.

Some of the people on the cruise stayed on the boat almost the whole time. Yeah, they are a lot of programs and events running each day + spa and exercise facilities if you so choose, but isn't the point of a cruise to relax on the boat in between travelling to new places?

When we stayed on the boat, it wasn't quite warm enough to stay on the deck and so we would retreat inside the ship looking for something to do. Going back to the issue of demographics, not everything catered to our interests. Ready for a singles mingle, eh? Haha. Plus, we could often feel the movement of the boat. Sometimes it was really rocky, and sometimes we even felt like we were still drifting when we were on land.

5. Trivia
Trivia was our jam. We were pleasantly surprised by all the trivia and might have spent 4 hours at one venue participating in a series of trivia challenges. I know nothing—or at least nothing super useful when it comes to Trivia (we sadly missed the Disney Song rendition. I would have p-owned), but Jaslyn and Sarrah have seemingly endless stores of knowledge and we were able to hold our own in a couple of categories from animal discovery, song lyrics, motown, and more! Our prize for our winning round was a bottle of Sparkling Wine that we did not drink. Haha. We didn’t check out any of the shows but the other guests gave them high praise, so who knows.

6. Tying the Knot
Last, the reason that we came in the first place: Our friend’s wedding. The ceremony was small, but lovely. The back of the boat was reserved for our party and we gathered midday on one of our days at sea. It wasn’t terribly hot and surprisingly it wasn’t too cold either. The morning rain had ceased and blue sky came out to join our celebration. The ceremony was brief with the captain officiating, and then we enjoyed a multiple course meal in one of the many elaborate dining rooms followed by dancing the day away as the sun set over the water... Not too shabby.

Sunset at the Wedding Reception

The results of this current adventure, are… still out at sea. Get it? ㅋㅋ. We aren’t entirely sure if we would go on another cruise—especially not so soon. Maybe if the demographics were different... and maybe more of an island-hopper like a Hawaiian or Caribbean Cruise...

Love and Hugs

Just leaving trails through the wave...

Climbing Mount Halla: Gwaneumsa

I used to think that they were giving you a bit of cushion room when I heard it took about 9 hours round trip to the top of Halla Mountain. They were, I thought, accounting for people who were out of shape or who planned to take longer breaks--or maybe people who planned to climb in the snow or other strenuous conditions.

I've gone up the Seongpanak trail (click for blog post) 3 times now in different seasons and at my weakest, I've taken around 7 and a half hours. When I heard that the Gwaneumsa trail was finally open again, I was ready for a different perspective. And now I know why they say 9 hours.

The Facts for Gwaneumsa (관음사 코스):
Distance: ~8.7 km (sources vary, even on the trail)
Vertical Climb: 620 m start to 1,950m summit
Campground available at base: Sources paid max 6,000 to park, rent site and use shower facilities

Compared to Seongpanak (성판악 코스):
Distance: ~9.6 km
Vertical Climb: 750 m start to 1,950 summit
No campground at base

Conclusion:
Yes, Gwaneumsa is technically shorter (by 2km in the round trip), but you are climbing up an additional 130 m which makes for a whole lot more stairs. Seongpanak is definitely a gentler beginning with the most difficult part at the end. Make sure to bring lots of liquids and snacks for the climb. As of right now, the check point does not sell any food and I don't know if it ever will.

Still, when you finally get out of the trees and can look back toward the coast, it is so worth it.

Panaramic view toward Jeju City. If you can see the small building, its the Check Point about 6km in.

I doubt I will ever climb Halla in better weather conditions. Not only was it an ideal temperature (started with 12° and worked up to about 22°) and sunny, but the day was so clear. I could see islands off the coast that I had no idea existed.

I never knew you could see Gapado and Marado through here! 

That big white half moon shape (Right side close to sea) is the Jeju World Cup Stadium.

Ignoring the lucky weather, I think the highlight of the Gwaneumsa trail in comparison to Seongpanak is that Gwaneumsa weaves more into Halla on the way up and as a result has better views (IMO). Both trails are mainly in the woods until they arrive at their respective check points, but afterward is where the big difference lies. Seongpanak takes you around the dome as it climbs, which is nice, but it's basically looking back at the same parts of the island the whole time. Gwaneumsa takes you into a folded valley and has a switchback, giving you an alternative perspective on the mountain in addition to the distant hills and towns way below AND then the same views as Seongpanak from the top. There was one side of the mountain that reminded me of the hills I trekked around in Somerset. I almost expected a couple of goats or sheep to pop up amid the grass and rocks. Gwaneumsa also has a nice big bridge and some cool caves along the route which again makes it stand out from Seongpanak.

With my sore calf muscles, it's too soon for me to say I'll head up Gwaneumsa again. I still want to summit when there's snow, but who knows what route I'll choose then. Who knows, maybe I'll go up one and down the other when the time comes.

I spy Udo and Sunrise peak~~~

If you're contemplating climbing Halla and are determined to summit, I would recommend Seongpanak if you are not top physical form, but if you would like more of a challenge, hit up Gwaneumsa. If you don't care about going to the summit, hands down I say skip both and do Yeongshil instead. (Or up Eorimok and down Yeongshil; click for Yeongshil in the winter). ㅎㅎ

Happy Trails!

Love and Hugs.

Sanbangsan Ferry Ride

*Photos from August 2016*

Address: 서귀포시 안덕면 화순해안로 106번길 16
Address: 106-16 Hwasunhaean-ro, Andeok-Myeon, Seogwipo-si
Price Range: Under 20,000 per person
Times: 11:00, 14:10, 15:20
Facebook: Unofficial Link
Parking: Parking available in the Harbour and back toward the beach area if you are willing to walk more

Looking around the side of Hyung Jae Some toward SanBangSan.

 As winter releases its windy hold upon Jeju and the sun begins to bring colour back to the neighbourhoods, all I want to do is be outside. (Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have gone into Outdoor Ed instead!).

SanBangSan and Hyung Jae Some from the south side

Today, instead of a restaurant or cafe, here's information on how to take a mini cruise--in case that wasn't obvious by the pictures... The ferry boat goes past SanBangSan (산방산), around Hyung Jae Some (형재섬; I'm really not certain if this is how you would spell it in English, but it fits the pronunciation best) to the point of Songaksan (송악산; pronounced with a long O sound like Song-ahk-san and not Son-gak-san) and then back again. The whole trip takes about an hour and if you are lucky enough to have clear weather, you get a killer view of Hallasan in the distance.While my friend and I couldn't see the summit when we went, the cloud art made up for it.

We're on a boat!

I stumbled into this trip by accident. I follow a couple local Korean instagram accounts and during the summer one of them posted a video speeding along the coast. I sent it to my Korean friend asking if she knew how to do something like this. I was both surprised and pleased when she said that it was easy and fairly inexpensive.

In Korean, the cruise is called called 산방산 유람선, romanized as San-Bang-San You-Ram-Sun.

Here are some key things to know before you go:
1. Make sure you have your ARC card or Passport with you. Whenever I've taken a boat trip from Jeju, I've always needed to show my identification.

2. You may need to go early to get your ticket. Popularity depends on time of year and day of the week, and I've found that some ferry rides fill up fast. If you have a Korean friend who can help you, I think you can reserve tickets online, but I don't know how. My friend and I went about 30-45 minutes before the departure time and we were okay.

3. Throughout the ride, an announcer tells you different things--probably about SanBangSan, the islands and history, but naturally if you can't understand Korean (like me), you will miss that part of the experience.

4. I didn't get nauseous, but if you get seasick really easy, maybe think carefully about going.

SanBangSan and Dragon Head Rock (Yong-Meori; 용머리)

I really enjoyed the ride because it offered a new perspective on one of my favourite parts of Jeju and my favourite lump of rock (I'll leave it to you to figure out if I mean SanBangSan or Hyung Jae Some ㅎㅎㅎ). And naturally a huge photo-op for our camera-addicted society.

Close up of Hyung Jae Some (형재섬).

It was also really cool to see Hyung Jae Some up close. I never realized that the small islands had such vibrant colours!

Rounding the little islands.

All in all, this is a fairly relaxing outing that would be fun if you're just travelling through or if you've lived here for a while and looking for something new to do.

Looking back toward Jeju~~

Happy Spring Adventures!

Love and Hugs 

Busan, At Last

(Dated 7.29-31.2016)

I thought that my second attempt to go to Busan would end at that: an attempt. As I was on my way to the airport Friday after work, I got the first message that my flight was delayed about an hour. Something to do with a congested runway, I think. That hour turned into 2.5, but my plane did take off and I made it at last to the seaside city.

What a weekend. Very little sleep (in part due to surprise adventures and misinformation) and too many mosquito bites later (seriously. over 35 on my right leg alone. I am so itchy!), I returned tired but happy to Jeju. Here are two of the highlights of my weekend. With a one more typical tourist things, and one a little less tourist-y. Ha.

Starting with the latter: My Night Hike of Busan
This was partly unexpected due to missing information. I was told we were going on a night hike by my host so I expected a late night, but what I didn't know was that it was a hike to see the sunrise. Oops. I generally don't do all nighters. Sleep and I have a somewhat jealous relationship. We can't stand being apart for too long, but well, I suppose waiting for the sunrise is a good reason.

From a hidden beach at around 00:30.

We started in Nampo-dong (남포동) and headed toward the water, walking along the coast when we could as we headed east. Out trail eventually led to Bongraesan (봉래산) which was the most strenuous climb on our hike and the tallest peak out of the three on our route.

From the top of Bongraesan at around 3:00.

The sky beginning to change colour as we waited for the sunrise. It was really humid/hazy... 5:20.

We slowly made our way along the mountain range, south to the smallest peak which also had the best view of the sunrise. It was a little cloudy, but it was still stunning. I was well beyond tired, and we still had to get down, but I was definitely happy that I said yes to the hike.

At last we saw the sun break through the cloud cover, 5:50.

Next, Gamcheon Cultural Village (감천문화마을)
This village is one of the more famous tourist spots of Busan. It's a whole neighbourhood that used to be a real eyesore in the city and was known for being really poor. Then, sometime in the later half of the 1900s, people started painting the buildings and from there it became a work of art. Now people come from all over to see how this poor community changed into something beautiful. I don't know how the residence feel about that, but it is somewhat cool to walk around. There are a number of cool things to look at and there are some awesome lookouts, too.

My first view of the village. Can you find the building shaped like a mug?

After walking around, I came to this lookout toward the sea and couldn't resist a picture!

I paid a couple thousand won to get a stamp booklet and map. It takes you through the village with some information about key areas and some of the artworks. You can also collect 16 stamps and get 2 postcards. As I love maps and finding things, this was right up my alley.

Canadian fish must swim together. It took me a while to find this little guy.

I didn't really have a huge agenda for that Saturday afternoon and I really enjoyed slowly exploring the village during the afternoon. The village is a tourist spot for a reason and I think it is definitely worth a visit. I think it's really amazing how the people came together to turn something rundown into something people really want to visit and explore.

All in all, I loved my first trip to Busan and hopefully when I'm next there I'll be able to see more cool things and awesome people.

Onto the next adventure, I suppose. =P

Love and Hugs.

Sunrise Peak (성산일출봉)

As the weather has been getting nicer, one of my friends and I decided that it was time for new island adventures.  There are only a few months left to this school year and we want to enjoy as much as we can.  And while I'll be staying in Jeju for next year, a number of my coworkers are returning back to their home-places (or just moving on to somewhere else). Thus time is precious!

Audrey and I decided to start our travelling off with a bang by heading out to the far side of the island to climb Sunrise Peak FOR sunrise.  While I had the chance to go to Sunrise Peak at the start of the year, my friend had yet to visit.  And as we get closer to the solstice, the sunrise will only be earlier, making it harder to get to the top in time.

This past Sunday, after church, we began our journey (시작!).  We really lucked out with the weather.  Saturday's rain makes Niagara Falls look like a drizzle. It was awful--especially because of the wind.  I was out with some girls when it started and had to drive carefully as the wind attempted to push me off the roads.  But!  The rain left the world feeling super fresh for our adventure!

We couldn't help but stop along the coast. It was too pretty!

After a brief stop at the Jeju Folk Village (and then a stop for green tea ice cream!), we continued our way along the coast until at last we could see the peak!

We stopped to pick up seashells along this beach.

Destination in sight!

After checking into our hostel and at last eating our first meal of the day (Ha. It was one of those random food weekends for us), we went to explore the peak.  As we'd be climbing it before sun-up the next day, we wanted to see it a bit in the late afternoon light.

The cove around the north side of the peak.  At the bottom of the stairs is a restaurant serving Haenyeo food.

I think the coolest part of this day was when we got back to the hostel (The Yellow Submarine Guesthouse, via Airbnb).  Both of us were pretty tired, having come off a week of overnight shifts, but then the owner came to our room and asked if we wanted to join them for dinner.  Surprised, but curious, we said yes.  There were six of us in total: the owner and one of his employees, two young soldiers on vacation, and then Audrey and me.  While I could understand bits and pieces, Audrey helped out a lot as translator.  It was a lot of fun and a really awesome experience.  We might have stayed up a bit too late as a result, but no regrets. 

Still... 4:45 came early the next day.

Sunrise Peak is open an hour before Sunrise.  Monday morning, the sunrise was just before 6 which meant we wanted to be out of our guesthouse around 5.  It takes about 15-30 minutes to walk to the top depending on speed.  I recommend bringing a flashlight.  Sources on the internet told us it would be well lit, but no. It wasn't.  At all.  We managed with little problem (although it was sprinkling a bit and rocks were wet), but it would have been nice with a bit of ground light.

Unfortunately, Monday morning was really cloudy which meant we couldn't actually see the sunrise (it just steadily got brighter, haha), but there was still a stunning view back toward Halla mountain.  And really, it just means that Audrey and I will have to go again. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

View from the top.

By 6:30 we were back down at the bottom and ready for the next part of our adventure.  But, more on that later.

U island (우도, Udo) as seen from the trail descending Sunrise Peak.

Love and Hugs.

My weekend in Bu---Jeju.

This past weekend I had planned to at last visit the city of Busan (부산).  While not as big as Seoul, I have heard that Busan is a fun place to visit and I was really excited.  Plans were made for both accommodations and some meetups and I was ready to hit the ground running.

Alas, my plans were not meant to happen.  Saturday morning, as I was ready to go, Jeju was hit (and is still being hit as I write this) with the worst snow storm that it's seen in more than (some say) 38 years.  I was told that Jeju never gets much snow and that the snow is mostly on the top of Halla.  Well, not this year.

As we waited at the bus stop at 10 Saturday morning, we were already in a winter wonderland.

The adventure began at the bus stop.  I feel like a lot of adventures begin at bus stops, and in this way, ours was no different.  I was with my friends Audrey and Jenny who were also heading to the airport.  Their flights were for Seoul while mine was for Busan.  Even though there was already a lot of snow, we were excited and optimistic.  I had heard that the snow was worse where we lived and thought that it would be okay in the city and at the airport.  My biggest concern at this point in my journey was weather or not I'd miss my flight (pun intended).  The bus had trouble getting to the city and what is normally a 40 minute bus ride to the airport ended up being 1.5 hours.

Maybe I should have missed my flight.

I raced through the airport.  It was 11:45 and my plane, scheduled for 11:30, had been pushed back to 12:10.  The lady at the desk looked at my information and quickly handed me my boarding pass saying, "학생 (haksaeg; student) run!" I made it to my gate just as they were boarding.  I really hoped that the bus ride was the worst of it.

No.

When it became clear that the flight was being delayed longer, I settled into wait.  The snow kept blowing out across the tarmac, stopping for brief periods of 20-30 mins before swooping in like a fire blanket: thick and smothering.

I'm glad I didn't work for the airport today...

It was kinda of weird seeing palm trees with snow.

In the end, I boarded a plane for a 5.5h flight from Jeju to Jeju.  Around 17h00 they told us that our flight was cancelled and we started rolling back to the airport to deplane.  My first deplaning.  ㅎㅎㅎ.  Well, since my flight was cancelled, I needed to cancel my return flight scheduled for Monday and so I then headed to the Air Busan service desk. As all flights were cancelled at this point, Audrey and Jenny were in their own lines and we agreed to meet up afterward.

By 19h15 we were finally all done.  And now came the hardest question: what next?  With the weather so bad, no taxis were heading back our way and we weren't really sure about the bus either.  That meant staying in Jeju for the night.  But how did we leave the airport and where did we go?  While we were all starving (we hadn't eaten since breakfast), all we wanted was a roof over our heads.

The line in 7/11 was so long I could only
find these at a vending machine.

Luckily, Jenny's mom has connections and after a few calls we found a place to crash.  But still: How did we get there?

Supposedly there was a shuttle bus, so we waited.  By 21h00 it was clear that it wasn't just running late and so we decided to try the taxi stand.  Unfortunately, the taxi stand was in the wind and the taxis weren't coming often enough and the cold soon chased us back to the airport.  We had tried calling a taxi earlier but the companies were so busy it was hard getting through.  (And by we, I really mean Jenny since she speaks fluent Korean).  But we were desperate enough to try again and thankfully we got lucky.

22h00 we were at last made it out of the airport and to a safe haven at 코스트웨이 (Coast Way), a pension run by Jenny's mom's friend.  She was super nice and even made us dinner for which we were so grateful!

Blurry but happy faces at surviving our day at the airport.

The worst of our adventure was over, and thankfully we were able to laugh and joke about it as we went.  We all agreed that had we been alone, we probably would have been miserable, but together we managed to stay somewhat optimistic.

Heading to the bus stop.  Jenny didn't realize I was taking a picture.  Oops.  Haha.

Simply stunning view of the sea this morning from the bus stop.  We could see the waves crashing into the shore with a chilling violence.  Still, the majesty is breathtaking.

Sunday morning, we managed to catch a bus to the terminal and then the bus back home.  While the roads were still bad and it took longer than we hoped to get back home, we made it.  By 15h30.  Just like that, our weekend was pretty much gone.

This quote was on the wall at the pension and I felt like it spoke a lot into our situation:

"Lost wealth can be regained, but lost time never."

We were able to get a refund for our flights, but our time was lost. However, I think that despite our circumstances, we were still able to laugh a lot and have fun. It certainly was an interesting adventure. 

2015: Year of Firsts

Well, 2015 is at an end.

What a year.  Right now, I'm somewhere in Malaysia--most likely Kuala Lumpur--enjoying my winter break, but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on everything this past year.

My year of firsts.  More firsts than I thought possible.  At the start of 2015 I summarized 5 big things that were coming.  Looking back now, those were only the tip of the iceberg.  Here is a list of some of the big FIRSTS for the year (in chronological order):

1. First time going to a job fair.  I had my first Skype interview for a job and ended up accepting the position a few days later.  
2. First time in a musical production.
3. First Tattoo.  Dear friends who didn't yet know I got a tattoo.  Surprise.  I got one with my mum and sister on Valentine's Day, 2015.
4. First time on a plane.  In March, I flew to the UK to learn about their school system and visit my family.  Since that trip, I have now been on 19 planes. 
5. So that was my first time in England, Scotland and Wales.  As well as my first time meeting some of my extended family.
6. My trip to Scotland also featured my first couchsurfing experience.
7. I don't know if finishing my Bachelor of Ed can count as a 1st, but I'll include it in this list as it's own milestone moment.
8. My first big trip to the USA.  I was gone for about a month and I visited 5 states.  This trip included my first trip to Disney World and Universal Studios, my first time visiting numerous friends in person, and my first time riding a horse bareback. 






9. My first surgery--while small, they did put me to sleep to remove my wisdom teeth.  
10. First time moving to a new country doubled as my first trip to a non-English-speaking country.  Hello Korea.  I'm so glad we met.  Let's be friends. 
11. My first mountain summit was Hallasan on Jeju. 
12. The first 10k race.  I still can't believe how hard it was.  Those orem were no joke.
13. Coming back to my first tropical Christmas and my first Christmas on a mountain.

And to think, this list is composed of only some of the highlights.  I have tried so many new foods and I have explored so many new places around Jeju and mainland Korea. There is just so much to see and do, I can't imagine not exploring; not adventuring.

I raise my metaphoric glass to you all and wish you all the best in 2016.  May there be even more new moments and experiences on the horizon.

Love and Hugs,

Rae

Borneo: Climbing Mount Kinabalu

A couple of months ago, when I was first planning my trip to Singapore and Malaysia, my friend Jade asked me if I wanted to climb Mount Kinabalu with her. After some consideration, I thought 'The tallest mountain in Southeast Asia? Why not?'

The mountain from the Park check-in.

So it goes. Christmas 2015. No regrets, but man, was it hard.

We were so positive and excited at the start.

In order to climb the mountain, you need to book trough the mountain's website because you must climb with a guide and they only allow a certain number of permits a day. There are two main options for the climb: 3 days/2 nights or 2 days /1 night. We went with the latter, slightly  cheaper option.

This meant we had about 6k up to the lodge the first day and then another 3k up to the summit before heading back down the next day. We were lucky to have really good weather. It only rained a bit around lunch on the way up. Considering it's a rain forest, that wasn't too bad. ㅎㅎ. The clouds moved in really fast though. We arrived at one lookout and had a stunning view of the mountain. But then in the time it took Jade to grab her camera, it had disappeared.

My lucky shot between cloud coverage.

Including our lunch break any other resting stops it took us about 4.5 hours to get to the rest point on Christmas Eve. We were exhausted but feeling accomplished.  So naturally, we got out the Christmas Tree. Jade insisted we bring it up the mountain.

Jade and I each with the tree. 

She also brought the hats.

It was only 14h00 and dinner didn't start until 16h30 so we spent the afternoon talking to other trekkers and playing cards. There were other Canadians, some people from the UK, Finland, and the US. A couple groups from Sweden, a Dutch family from the Philippines, and a Korean couple to name a few. It was a lot of fun meeting everyone and I almost didn't want to sleep to further enjoy their company, but morning was coming quickly.

...

1h30.
Is that my alarm? Did I even sleep?

2h00.
Feeling a bit nauseous, I don't really want to eat breakfast. Is this a bit of altitude sickness?

2h30.
Headlamp check. Time to go. It's dark and cold and there are so many stairs. I hate stairs.

Time unknown. Maybe 3h30... 4h00?
Something worse than stairs: rope. Stairs please come back. After scaling with the rope, we are gasping.  Our guide also starts to tell us we're going too fast and that we should slow down. Fast? Ha. I feel like a turtle.

~5h00.
We were too quick. There are only another 100 or so meters to the top but the sun doesn't rise for an hour. The wind tries to tear us from the mountain. We huddle together next to a large rock and sing Christmas songs to keep us warm.

~5h30.
Toes and fingers are so cold. I'm shivering violently and wishing I was back at lodge. Then guide tells us we can start going again. Back into the wind we go.

~6h00.

Wait for it...

Shabam! The sun rising between a couple of the peaks.

6h10.
Okay that's good. Time to go. Time to somehow go back down what we struggled up. It looks so much different in the sunlight. Stunning. Inspiring. Deadly.

When clouds are like the creamy design on a mug of coffee...

8h00.
Somehow arrived back at the lodge. That was hard. And we still have 6k to go. But first, second breakfast.

9h30.
We leave with the Dutch family and our new UK friend. Jade is in more pain than I, but we push through. Comaderie prevails. Were there this many stairs on the way up? Each step is jarring. Oh! Don't forget to wish Merry Christmas to everyone we pass!

12h54.
Huzzah! We finished. Can we sleep yet?

.
.
.

Was it worth it?

Love and Hugs.