Happy Anniversary, Korea!

August 24th was the anniversary of my arrival in Korea (technically, August 23rd was the anniversary of my departure from America). I've been in Korea for over a year now, and I have to say I'm having a lot of mixed feelings about leaving it.

Yangpyeong Motel Excursion and Luxury Wooden Bed

Have I mentioned that I bought a new bike? I honestly can't remember. I bought it from Craigstlist a few weeks ago, and sold my old rusty tank. My new one is definitely an improvement over the old one. I actually really love it. Anyway, since I only have a few weeks left in Korea, around 6 weeks when I bought the bike, I've been trying to use it at least once a weekend. So last weekend, Romeo and I decided to do an excursion he had been wanting to take me on.

Going Short, Again.

Well, in my last blog I wrote about how my bank card went missing. Well, when I discovered it was missing, I was on my way to get my hair cut! When I got things sorted, Romeo lent me some money so I could still keep my appointment. And here are the results:

Lost: Kookmin Bank Card

Well, something everyone dreads has happened to me in Korea. I've lost my bank card. I had made it almost 12 months in this country without losing something significant (ID card, bank card, etc), but now my record has been tarnished. Yesterday, I decided to try out the new Smoothie King that BauHaus has put in around the corner from my apartment. I ordered an Angel Food, and as I pulled out my phone (which doubles as my wallet in Korea), I had the sinking realization that my card was not in its usual location. Here's the deal...

Jeju Island (Thursday)

Since I had had a very adventurous and active last two days, on Thursday I decided that I needed to do some intense leisure. I knew I needed to get up to Jeju City at some point, and decided that since I'd heard they have the best beaches in the north, I would go sooner rather than later in order to make the most of my day.

Jeju Island (Wednesday)

Wednesday morning came and I was still tired from my full day on Tuesday. But, I knew I couldn't waste any time on Jeju! I wanted to accomplish something else today, so I decided to make my way to Udo Island on the east coast of Jeju Island. I debated about renting a bike and biking TO Udo, but I couldn't figure out the actual distance and if there were actually decent roads I could bike. I also wasn't sure about the cost of renting a bike here or there, so I asked the guy at the hostel again, and he told me that they could rent me a bike for 10,000W for the day, but it was too far to ride to Udo (~40-50km). I figured I might could do that, but I wouldn't want to turn around and come back in the same day. I decided to take a bus to Udo and rent a bike there.

Jeju Island (Tuesday)

The following morning I woke up early and got some breakfast at the hostel. The provided eggs and toast and cereal, so I made some scrambled eggs with toast. I then asked the hostel worker guy for directions to a bus that would take me to the beginning of Olle Trail #6. He gave me directions, I grabbed a couple bottles of water and a snack for my backpack, and hit the road.

Jeju Island (Monday)

I'm finally getting around to writing my blogs for my summer vacation last week. It was a whirlwind vacation and now that I'm back, I just haven't had the time and energy to write. But, at long last, here it is. For summer vacation, I wanted to get out of Seoul. But, with my contract ending soon and plans for Europe falling into place, I didn't want to break the bank either. I decided that taking a domestic flight down to Jeju Island would be the best course of action.