When she first flew in I wasn't sure how we would find each other because our originally designated spot to meet was in an area that I couldn't get to. Apparently, you are supposed to pick up your luggage before you leave the gate. But we were both intelligent adults and found each other in the end even if we were both in a panic before we saw the other person.
Darlea had previously requested to do a Temple Stay in Korea and so right from the airport I took her to Gyeonju City to the Golguksa Temple where we would get the true Korean experience and spend the night in a Temple. It turns out that there are not that many visitors at this time of year and because of this we had our own room and most of the activities were focused on us. There was only two other girls doing the temple stay as well. It was great but there was a slight problem. This temple had a focus on martial arts and as much exercise Darlea gets at her desk job, it was not enough for her not to be hurting after the first day. The next day we did 108 bows and went on a short hike and I think I might have abused her a little bit by forcing her on all those activities... hehe. It was fun though and it might have been her just being polite (no, she would have told me she didn't like it) but she said she had a good time there.
After the temple stay we got back into town and went to the Bulguksa Temple, which is a historical temple in Korea for the fact that it is huge and beautifully painted. The fall colors were out and we even had some time to feed the Koi. I also was able to do some christmas shopping :)
We left early enough to get home and get a quick dinner and to watch a movie. This was a much needed rest for the both of us. Since we had to drag the luggage the whole time we were out and about. Again poor Darlea. :(
The next day we explored Busan, the second largest city in South Korea and we did a lot of walking. We first went to an outdoor market and even checked out the Busan fish market. We had lunch there and it was super tasty too. They fried up at least four different kinds of fish for us and threw in some free soup to wash it down. That was delicious and different. We also went over to Centum City, which is the largest Department Store in the South. Bought a few trinkets and then headed to the Busan Aquarium. It really was a fishy day. The Aquarium was fun because we went on our own personal boat ride onto a shark infested tank and got to feed the sharks as well. The tour guide did her best to speak english but overall not a bad job. We spent a lot of time walking around and in the end even had to be escorted out because we took too long looking at the fish. It was fun and the security guard spoke good english and was cute, so who cares. We caught the last bus back to Masan and again fell asleep to a movie. We also ate Korean Barbeque to finish off the day.
I was only allowed two days off of work this week, so the next day my time was up. It was actually really nice, cause Darlea needed a day where she could relax and one of my friends came from another city to go out to dinner with her. They went to a fried chicken place and they checked out the baskin robins here to see all the 31 flavors of Asialand. They are different. That and some Korean guys hit on the girls too which was flattering I'm sure ;)
The next day, Darlea followed me to school and watched me teach. Before that we had a really good lunch which was called shabu shabu. This had to be the best meal because it was so involved. First you boil raw meat in a broth along with mushrooms and bean sprouts. Then when it is cooked you wrap the meat and mushrooms in a noodle like tortilla shaped thing along with veggies of your choice. Once you had your fill of the wraps, you pour noodles into the mushroom meat broth and cook them up. Making a really good soup to enjoy. After eating that for a while, the hostess comes over and removes most of the broth and all of the meat and mushrooms then pours in a pretty good amount of rice and a little egg with a squash. She mixes this up to create a sweet rice dish that is oh so tasty. It was an amazing lunch, and helped get us both through the day of crazy students.
After the day of teaching we went to try eel with my coworkers. That was a lot of fun but the eel wasn't that amazing. Shabu shabu was a whole lot better. We finished the day with that and then realized it was Thanksgiving..... whoops.
This adventure had to come to an end though and so we packed everything up and on friday we took a bus to busan where I said bye to Darlea. Sad day.
It was so great to have her here and I guess since this is Thanksgiving week, I can say that I am grateful for great friends like her.
Till the next adventure ^^
WHAT!!!! I can't believe you don't like eel!
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