| June 18th, 2001 happiness quotient: 8.9 Alison and I went on our first overnight trip over the weekend to Poryong, a beachside city on the west coast. We left Suwon at 8:15, took a train and bus and were on the beach by 11 a.m. Poryong is on the Yellow Sea and I was excited to finally have my first swim in Korea. The water was cold and I stepped on a mystery creature that moved under my feet but other than that it was excellent. We hung out on the beach all day, enjoying the sun and getting a little burnt. The Koreans are smarter than we are: they fear the sun--everyone sat underneath umbrellas and and didn't bare much flesh. I'm sure when I'm diagnosed with skin cancer some day I'm going to wish I hadn't shrugged off their stares and sympathy at our pink flesh. When the sun finally set we had a great dinner of crabs and clams and then spent the night in a yogwan (ie. cheap hotel). It cost about twenty bucks each and the highlight of it was definitely the gel bed cover that was slightly heated. I'm sure such a thing is available in the States; I want one. On Sunday we took a bus from Poryong to Taechon where we caught the train. The bus ride is only worth mentioning because I think we were part of a world record. I've never been on a bus crammed so full--there were at least 60 people and that's a modest estimate. On the train ride back we didn't have reservations for seats so most of the two and a half hour journey was spent standing up. It wasn't so bad because we ran into Louisa and her travel companion, Dot. They were returning from a "fantastic" national park further up north. I really enjoyed talking to Dot, whose father was a yacht builder. She's done a lot of sailing and once spent three months on a boat going from New Zealand to the South Africa. According to her, if one wants such an experience all they have to do is hang out in a port city and the opportunity to end up on a ship making long voyage will present itself. I've decided that some day I'm going to go to Capetown and become a skipper on the way to South America. some day some day some day. So, now I'm back in Suwon and starting another work week. Last night I woke up around 3:30 to a serious rain-falling....it was really coming down and I watched it for awhile from my bedroom window. I'm getting more and more interested to see what monsoon season will be like--I've heard the down pours are frequent and quite intense. The rain lasted throughout the day and was very welcome as Korea is experiencing a horrible drought. I don't mind it at all because it keeps the weather cool and a day with cleaner air is sure to follow. I don't seem to notice the pollution until I experience a day with clean air--it's a good thing. |