South Korea, Jeju, New Zealand (North and South Islands), Fiji, Thailand and China — the places we’ve been honored to visit on this year-long adventure.

Seoul, early November

26 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Out in the Big World/Travel

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Thanks to a kind invitation by the Odoms, we decided to hop the KTX (fast train) to Seoul for a day of sightseeing, including the Lantern Festival I’d been hoping to see since reading about it while still at home in Belfast. The KTX system is simple and easy and seemingly always on time, and a good thing, too, when you’re standing in the cold awaiting your ride! Yup, we’ve finally hit a true fall, with cold nights and cool days. And if the wind blows here in Daegu (and, likewise, Seoul) the temp dips lower than is comfortable. The kids liked the new way of travel. With their iPods, sketch books and colored pencils, they were happy as could be for two hours, which, by bus, would be more than 4.

I can say this for Seoul: it’s big, busy, bustling and bursting with life. First, we hustled our way to a Naem Dae Mun Market, only to flit through two streets and hustle our way back out again. The crowds were ca-razy and though it’s easy to spot the caucasians in the group, we couldn’t concentrate on anything and keep an eye on everyone in our group…insanity! Next, we visited an ancient palace in the heart of downtown Seoul. Surrounded by skyscrapers and neighbored by a Dunkin Donuts, the palace held a kind of peace inside its walls. It was a gorgeous fall day, with orange and yellow leaves still dangling from the trees and the sunshine peaking through. One could get a small sense of life as it was lived here hundreds of years ago. The changing of the guards occured here…a colorful, booming spectacle. I hope the pictures capture some of it. What struck me, and I’m sure you’re noticing the repeating of this theme…was the view of this ultra-modern city that served as the backdrop for such a revered, ancient ritual. The past meets the future and attempts to meld here in Korea, everywhere we turn. It’s fascinating.

Lastly, the Lantern Festival – worth the trip, for sure. It reminded me of a parade, only the crowd moves instead of the ‘floats’. Again, wall to wall people gathered and meandered around, enjoying the beautiful works of art. Enjoy!

: Crowded much?

Just in Time for Halloween

10 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Cuisine, Out in the Big World/Travel, Strange Customs

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A long, long time ago (Yes, I read the brochure. No, I didn’t memorize it) the have-nots in Korea would gather together and make fun of the haves. They were able to do this and not get punished because they wore masks during painfully honest depictions of the upper crust and their treatment of the peasants. The masks were as elaborate as could be for the time, created of whatever materials could be found, usually hollowed out squash or gourds, and painted with vivid colors portraying any number of complicated human emotions. Nowadays, for my enjoyment, and the enjoyment of the thousands of others who flocked to the Andong Mask Festival on Saturday, the show goes on! What an awesome gathering! What an incredible experience!

As does any festival with a theme, this one had vibrant displays of…you guessed it! Masks. It was so much fun to peruse the stalls and see the craftsmanship. In the photo above, professional artists show their stuff. In this one on the left, children show their mad skills with floam! Garrett particularly enjoyed masks with the most bizarre expressions on their faces…of course! Luke was happy to walk around and take it all in, go for a ride in a little motorized thing and try a hotdog on a stick with the batter fried and full of french fries as well (I think I mentioned this in a previous blog. Well, Luke try. Luke like.) For her part, Natalie (always the superstar with her blond hair and blue eyes) just stuck close by me while people tried to touch her and talk to her. Kudos for your patience, Nat! In the end, she got a hug from Curious George. A great day, all in all!

The Way Life Used To Be

09 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Out in the Big World/Travel, Strange Customs

≈ 1 Comment

Hahoe Village is tucked away into a lush, green, dense, hilly region that I couldn’t have found on my own with a compass, a map, a GPS in hand and Guy sitting shotgun. Mostly because all of Korea could be described this exact way. The incredible Hahoe Village is 600 years old, so I guess she can hang out wherever the hell she pleases. I assume building this village in such a remote area made sense at one time, but now it just begs the (admittedly beligerent) question: really?! Oh, but I found fleeting moments of the reverence I’d been looking for at the temples weeks ago! There is something special about being a part of things so old, yet thriving in the modern age. People still inhabit all of the ancient homes, cultivate fruit from the apple, orange and tomato? trees, landscape the yards…sell things to tourists. Another juxtaposition, one of dozens I keep tripping over in Korea. The cars in the yards of the traditional structured houses threw my mind for a loop, for example. The cars and then the outhouses — still necessary, apparently.

In the photo on the right, notice the firepit under the middle part of the house, obviously used for heating or the kitchen. This room to the right, with the open door, seems to welcome guests, but no. Sure would be nice to be able to read the signs! Then I wouldn’t appear to be an absolute idiot, albeit a well-meaning one. I swear.

As you might imagine, the area surrounding Hahoe Village is rice fields. This makes sense, right? Gorgeous plots of land with acres upon acres of rice, planted months ago and beginning to be harvested now. The way it’s been done for centuries.

It’s difficult to see, but in this photo on the right, rice hangs ready to be plucked. No workers out today, though. Maybe they were all at the Andong Mask Festival, which was our second stop of the day. See concurrent blog for more!