April 29 - Hiking with John & Lori

This was the second hike I went on with John & Lori. The first was completely undocumented, as everyone forgot their cameras and mine wasn't working properly.

So this was the second hike and it was somewhere 2 hours south of Suwon. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was about a 4 hr hike with a magnificent view from the top.

This was one of my favourite days in Korea, we had such a great time.

Lanterns for Buddha's birthday

Pink Cherry blossoms


John & I, very comfortably posed together :P
A festival celebrating and giving thanks for the mountain! (And yes, that is a pig's head)


Strolling among the bamboo
Pretty spring flowers

Lori & I at the top, standing on the helicopter pad
Perched on the top having lunch
Views from the top


The expression on John's face is the perfect personification of how we all felt when we thought we had found a secluded, QUIET place to have lunch at the top of the mountain, and then a bus load of Koreans descended upon us. It's funny, the mentality here is completely the opposite of back home. At home, if you saw someone having lunch in a nice quiet spot you would try to respect their privacy by going somewhere else. In Korea they think, "Hey! This must be where we're all supposed to have lunch!" John, having spent most of his time on the Army base in Korea, was the least impressed of the three of us. Lori and I just laughed, cause it was SO typical.
So after the hike, to top it all off we jumped back into John's Japanese car with the steering wheel on the right side (haha) and went to the Army base (my first time there - how I wish my camera had been working!) It was such a funny experience, I felt like I had been transported back to North America. There was a typical Truro-style mall, a couple of fast food restaurants and lots of barracks. It just totally looked like North America. Not a Korean thing in sight. Very very odd, but after being here for 7 months it was such a welcome change, I felt such relief! (Sad, I know.) We went to Chili's, a place I'm sure I would NEVER set foot in back home, but man, we ordered steak and mashed potatoes and margaritas, and I swear, it was just about the best meal I've ever tasted. Hahaha... oh man, maybe I shouldn't be saying this on the internet... it could come back to haunt me! (Especially after my American military rant in the DMZ post... ah well... that was before I met John :)