Boryeong Mud Festival (July 2011) (Posting old drafts)

Time to catch up...the rest of my time in the ROK! (March2012-March 2014)

So I took a break, a loooooong one, from blogging.  I got caught up in life, I guess.  My last real update was way back in March 2012, almost 2.5 years ago.  Time to fix that and play catch up.   So here's what happened during the rest of my time in the ROK since March 2012.  I'll try to just stick with the highlights...

I accidentally fell in love.  Unfortunately, the relationship only last for 9 months, but I had a great time.  We met the end of March 2012.  After the breakup, I made a couple of besties.  Worked out much better in the long run.

Cheongdo bull fighting festival.  Only the bulls fight each other.  (April 2012)

SantaCon Seoul  (December 2012)

World Baseball Classic in Tokyo with one of my besties, Mel (she LOVES baseball and I LOVE Tokyo).  (March 2013)

My friends and I went paragliding in Boryeong  (March 2013)

Seoul Jazz Festival at Olympic Park.  We saw Damien Rice, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Kings of Convenience...  (May 2013)

Hiked Mt Fuji  (July 2013)

Takahata & Miyazaki Animation Exhibit.  I went on a Miyazaki film craze following this exhibit.  The artwork on display was incredible.  (August 2013)

My Asus laptop decided to die and me.  As a result, I upgraded and invested in a 13" MacBook Air.  Birthday present to myself.  (November 2013)

Seoul Lantern Festival  (November 2013)

SantaCon Seoul  (December 2013)

 Winter Vacation 2013 - Thailand

 Winter Vacation 2013 - Thailand.  My friends and I decided to rent scooters on Koh Phangan where I had two, not one, accidents...  This picture above shows the result of my first accident.  The second accident was MUCH worse.

Winter Vacation 2013 - Hong Kong

Winter Vacation 2013 - Hong Kong

Last ladies' wine night in Seoul at Braii Republic  (January 2014)

Sticker photos with another bestie I made in the ROK, Steph  (February 2014)

Saying goodbye to my bro, Woody, before he leaves the ROK  (March 2014)

A delicious goodbye galbi meal with Steph  (March 2014)

My last weekend in the ROK  (March 2014)

My last meal in the ROK, at Incheon Intl Airport, before going on my grand adventure  (March 2014)

Long Weekend Part 3: Busan

Welcome to Busan!  This was the last stop of our three day weekend trip (this happened waaaaay back during the first weekend of June 2011)...and it was nice to lay out on the beach, even though is was packed with fully clothed Koreans.  They don't really like to wear bathing suits, well most of them.  

Me (not Korean).

 

We were lucky enough to catch the Sand Festival.

Interesting advertisement.

Strolling through Haeundae Market.

Long Weekend Part 2: Samcheok Beach

Our 3-day weekend consisted of a stop at Samcheok Beach located on the east coast, which is where we stayed for our trip to Haesingdang Park (aka Penis Park).  It was quiet, practically deserted, and relaxing at the same time.  It was nice to get away from the bustling city of Seoul along with having our toes in the sand.

(taken by Cath Witten)
Having some fun!  Took us a few tries to get this shot...had a lot of fun in the process =)

 

While we were watching the sun rise, I just happened to look over to the sight of these soldiers marching silently across the sand.  It caught me off guard and startled me a bit.  

Most of the time a picture can not capture the true beauty of nature.  

Our next stop, Busan (or as some pronounce it "Pusan")...