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 

Gyeongju: The Golden City

So you've been to Seoul--seen the sites and toured the town. Maybe you've been to Busan, too. After a while, big cities all look the same, eh? For my coworkers (and other foreigners living in Korea) who don't have the money or maybe time to go international, look no further.  For those tourists who want to see more than another big city, be prepared to travel a little further off the popular route and head to Gyeongju.

Near 보문Lake (English: Bomun, pronounced Bo-Moon Lake)

The only reason I travelled to this smaller city was because my mum came to visit and she wanted her "international debut" on the racing circuit. There weren't any races happening near me so I pulled up the list to find one that we could easily travel to from Jeju. When I spotted the Gyeongju CHERRY BLOSSOM Marathon, I said heck yes to flowers while running. Let's go. A simple google search revealed that it was only about hour bus ride from Busan or Daegu. Or a couple hours on the KTX from Seoul.

My mum and I were originally only going to stay one night--fly in the night before, wake up to do the race and then leave. However, when I mentioned my plans to one of my students, she said that there was a lot to do in Gyeongju and that as part of Korean schooling, most public schools orchestrated trips to the Golden City. Why? I asked. Because, she said, Gyeongju was the capital during the Silla (신라; pronounced more like Shilla) dynasty. 

The Silla kingdom is one of the world's longest enduring kingdoms and there is a lot of history there. Intrigued, I extended our stay an extra day. I'm so glad I did.

Traditional Korean Hanok House and our Airbnb in Gyeongju. Isn't it lovely?

From what I've seen, the price to stay in a Hanok style house in seoul is expensive and can be a couple hundred a night. With the multitude of Hanok houses in Gyeongju, it's a lot more affordable.

I like the juxtaposition of the traditional style and current day construction.

I was expecting something similar to Jeju City or maybe even Cheongju City. Many Korean cities are built on and around mountains (Busan and Seoul being the big examples), and whereas Gyeongju shared the proximity to small mountains, it definitely was not the same. Nestled within the folds, Gyeongju has a small-town feel. The tallest building I saw had 10-12 floors. If you're up for a longer walk, you could easily get around a large part of the city on foot--or you can rent a bike/scooter at one of the many rental shops by the bus terminal. 

There's a couple rental stops right across from the Bus Terminal.

My mum and I rented bikes shortly after arriving and then headed out to the race course to scope out the scene. Our hostel was near the terminal and the course was by Bomun Lake and the tourist complex. It was at max a 10km bike ride out to the edge of the lake which was really nice along the river. My mum and I didn't explore much around the lake, but it looked like there was a number of cool museums, a bird sanctuary of some sort, and even a water park for warmer weather.

Back toward the central town area, there are a number of historical sights--aside from the fact that many buildings around town are built in the traditional style.

Sacred Bell

Mum and I just wandered around nearby the day before our race, and ended up at Daereungwon (대릉원). Both us of wondered about these giant hills that dotted this park as well as some other areas of town. 

Trail through Daereungwon beneath a Magnolia Tree.

What we learned was that these giant mounds of earth were actually tombs.

This is a tomb. Human captured for size perspective (not in Daereungwon).

To think that somewhere on the other side of the world, another civilization aside from Egypt thought that the best way to bury its kings was by constructing giant tombs... Definitely cool. A couple of the tombs have since been excavated and their artifacts are now at Gyeongju Museum (which we didn't have time to visit), BUT at the park, they left a door into one of the mounds so that you can see the layout and what the tomb would have been like from the inside. 

My mum spent the rest of the day lazily wandering before turning in early for the night. Lots of rest before race day! If you have more time, there are a few more tourist spots in the surrounding area--at most about 18km from the bus terminal according to one map. 

Unfortunately, our Cherry Blossom Race was probably 2 days too early for most of the trees. But we could see the buds. I can only imagine how beautiful Gyeongju is at the prime time for these soft flowers.

These trees were so close to blooming and probably only needed 2 more days!

In the midst of the pack.

Finsihed! 

And I'll end with this last picture of Starbucks merely because it's one of the coolest looking Starbucks I've ever seen, being built in the traditional style. For those of you who might be interested, Gyeongju has it's own unique Starbucks mug as well. 

Fancy looking Starbucks.

That's it for this mini-trip. Until next time!

Love and Hugs

Things I've learned about Taiwan

As I reflected about my time in Taiwan, I found it difficult to think about things for this list. And then I realized that because of my time in some other countries, I was ignoring aspects of Taipei that made the city different from the western world of my childhood (despite some similarities to the countries I've now travelled to). Trying to keep that in mind, here are a few things that I've learned about Taiwan.

View from Taipei 101 on a cloudy day...

1. You can do everything at a 711. From my time in Korea, I already know that convenience stores are way more common and have a wider purpose than what I'm used to in Canada. Honestly, in Canada, I never really bought anything at a convenience store. Not so in the asian countries I've visited. I felt like Taiwan took it to an all new high. Not only can you buy almost anything you might need on the fly (from shampoo, pads, first aid kits, alcohol, ramen or milk), you can also top up your transit pass AND buy tickets for the train and other places. Seriously, it's your one stop store.

2. Stinky Tofu is really Stinky. I've heard of this "food" but I had no idea how smelly it actually was until my first time walking around the night market. It was bad. I thought about trying it, but for this trip, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'll just have to go again and try next time.

3. The Motorbikes. Having been to Vietnam, Malaysia and China, I think I was a little desensitized to seeing people stream around street corners, but my mum reminded me that it is not a common occurrence back in the true North. And while Vietnam still wins in my experience as the craziest motorbike-flow, Taipei still had enough that it is cool to see. They drive so confidently.

In the Shilin Night Market (Friday Night).

4. That Night Market Life. My mum and I visited Shilin and Ningxia Night Market and both were very different from each other. Shilin, being the biggest, reminded me more of Seoul's Hongdae-type shops with a Namdaemun Market atmosphere (if you know the references). There were a number of stores that sold clothing, phone cases, toys, stuffed animals, etc and then among them pop-up street stalls that sold all sorts of food (steamed buns, chicken, stinky tofu, sausages, fresh cut fruit, and more). On the other hand, Ningxia reminded me more of the Old Quarter of Hanoi meets a Kuala Lumpur food court. There were some hole-in-the wall restaurants along the sides of the street with the small stool chairs and tables along the sidewalk. Down the center of the street, there were two rows of pop-up stalls. Some stalls also had a section of stools and tables while others you just grabbed your food and went on your way. Really popular foods had some crazy-long lines, especially on the weekend, so be prepared. The selection of food between the two markets is also different, so if you are in Taipei, I recommend hitting up both of them.

Whatever this is, I really liked it. (Shilin Night Market).

Some delicious steamed buns!

5. Don't stay in the City. While there is a lot to see and do within Taipei, there are so many amazing places to go in and around Taiwan. Even if you only have a couple days, dedicate 1 to out of city.

Mountain Hike Views: Yangmingshan

Yangmingshan Fumaroles.

I climbed above the clouds over Yangmingshan with a couchsurfer and new friend. My mum and I had the chance to go to Taroko Gorge on one day, which was amazing and so worth it. On another day, we hopped on a bus and road along the North-East coast. We hit up the Queen's head and a couple other places along the way. I was initially worried about taking the bus away from the city because if we got lost in a small town without Internet and potential English, things could get complicated quickly. (Ha). But there were a couple buses that went along the coastal road and it was easy to hop-on and hop-off at your fancy. On the way back, we came through the Tamsui District which is the top of the Red subway line in Taipei. I really wish we had ventured that way a day earlier because I would have liked to explore the area in more depth. Le sigh. At that point I was tired and didn't take many other photographs.

The Yehliu Harbour; there's something about a portside photograph... 

View from the Yehliu Peninsula back toward the island.

Do I even need to say that my time in Taiwan was too short?

Love and Hugs.

Taroko Gorge by Taxi

Price Summary (in New Taiwanese Dollars)

Train Ticket from Taipei to Xincheng per person = 311 or 403 (one way); 622 to 806 (round trip)

(price depends on express or ordinary train)

Taxi Rental (4 hours round trip to Xincheng Station) = 2500 

Entrance to Taroko Gorge.

When I asked my Taiwanese friends (and others who have been to Taiwan) for recommendations about the country, most mentioned Taroko Gorge. For someone who likes hiking, it was a must. Mountainous terrain with stunning scenery--really, how could I resist?

One of the bridges in the park.

View of one of the ravines.

There are many places on the Internet where you can find different attack plans for the Gorge. Some people stay over in Hualien city either before or after whereas others commute from Taipei or other areas of Taiwan. Here's one more post among the many about what we did (March 20, 2017).

As my mum and I had only a couple of days together in Taiwan before coming back to Korea, and I knew she would have more luggage, I didn't want to find another place to stay in Hualien, despite the recommendations to try out the nightmarket and other sites within the city. That being said, we opted to do a round trip from Taipei but instead of booking a company tour, we did it on our own. I think you can technically buy train tickets the day of, but one of my new friends helped me reserve seats a couple nights before just in case they sold out. We booked our train tickets to Xincheng (this stop is closer to Taroko Gorge than Hualien).

Because I wanted to make sure we got the most of our day, we were on the earliest train (7:08) and we arrived at the Taroko around 10 in the morning.

Eternal Spring Shine from a distance.

The trails jut off at different points along the road. For some trails, you need to reserve a permit in advance whereas others are come as you please (see http://old.taroko.gov.tw/English/ for more details). The Internet revealed that the main methods of maneuvering through the park are by using the bus, if you are okay with potentially long wait times; scooter, if you have a license to rent one; on foot, if you don't plan on going very far very quickly; taxi rental, if you have the money.

My mum and I were originally thinking of taking the bus. One of my friends did it a couple weeks ago and said it wasn't too bad and that they still were able to see a lot of the park. When we went, the forecast predicted thundershowers and as we weren't planning on spending a lot of money on other parts of our trip, we decided to splurge and use a taxi for the day. The taxis are waiting right at the station and the first we approached had a laminated sign with English. Listed were different day-trip options along with prices for one-way vs a round trip. My mum and I chose the 4 hour round trip.

Don't forget a hard hat!

Our driver didn't speak any English, but we managed to communicate. We drove to different spots and he would motion to our cameras for a photo op, or to a trail for us to explore. At certain points, we did out-and-back trails while at a couple other points, he met us at the end. My mum and I were quickly confused by the curving nature of the roads. Without the taxi driver, we doubt we would have seen as much as we did. Plus, four hours was a good amount of time. We probably could have pushed ourselves to do more, but both of us were tired and content at the end. No regrets.

When we rounded a corner and gasped in surprise, our taxi driver pulled over and told us he'd meet us up ahead.

We were lucky, too, in that the rain was at our backs and as we went deeper into the park, we could see it coming, but it didn't catch us until we were on the way back to the station. I had originally reserved our return tickets for the evening, but luckily there was space on an earlier train and we were heading back to Taipei just after 15:00. We arrived back in the city around 17:30 and enjoyed an easy dinner at one of the nightmarkets. All in all, a day well spent.

The storm, coming over the mountains.

And now you're in the know.

Love and Hugs.

Language Learning and Free Practice

I would like to think that I've improved in my Korean language ability, and maybe I have, but honestly, I feel like I'm at a bit of a plateau.

I started a new Korean class (level 4!) recently and eagerly picked up my new textbook. I really like how this class ties the vocabulary to the grammar points. Sometimes there is an overwhelming number of new vocabulary words, but at least it gives me a goal (whereas some of my other books introduce very few new words and I feel like the examples are repetitive, despite the new grammar structures). And yet, in compared to the previous book in this series, I was struct by the number of "free practice" exercises. What do I mean by free practice? When the instructions give you a picture or prompt and then tell you to talk about it with a buddy.

In level 3, there were more scaffolds in place that helped guide the conversation. I didn't realize how much I relied on those scaffolds until they were gone. Now, I stare blankly at the prompt. It's a lot more difficult and I'm of two minds.

Scaffolded Speaking Exercises (Level 3) 

Level 4 Speaking Exercises

A part of me knows that if I take the time, I could do it. I could create sentences--perhaps broken sentences--and answer the question or describe the situation. I recognize the value of these exercises as they push me to practice more skills. I know that as I take the time to create these complex sentences, it will become easier and I will be able to better receive and generate language.

But, right now, it's hard.

Level 4 Writing Exercise

It takes a lot more brain power than the scaffolded exercises and it's more frustrating. Where I once felt like I knew what I was doing, I now feel more tongue-tied and stupid. I stare at the page and I can't think of where to start. Where are all the vocabulary words I know? How do they all fit together again? The exercises that ask me to generate a longer block of text? I'll come back to those later. Eventually. Maybe. Probably not...

Thinking back to my classroom and my English Language Learners, I think I understand more what my students go through when we ask them to generate writing. Following a prompt in another language can be challenging. And I would have thought free writing is easier, but it is overwhelming and it can be hard to decide where to start. Especially when you are used to following prompts. I construct basic sentences over and over in my head but am never sure how to build off of them or connect my ideas together. And what I want to say is beyond my level of vocabulary and grammar. Ugh.

With practice, yes it will be easier, but how do I convince my students when right now it just makes some of them feel incompetent and stressed out? Many of them are resistant to anything that requires them to use their brain (shocker), but now I wonder, too, if it's because we've used too many prompts in the past and thus they choose not to try, hoping more prompts will come later... Right now, the effort that they need doesn't seem to outweigh the ultimate reward of becoming more proficient.

So then... how do I inspire that desire? And how do I ensure that I'm not over using my scaffolds like a crutch instead of  support?

...

The jury's still out.

Love and Hugs.