The end of our trip

As we came to the end of our time in Korea we still had one last thing we needed to do. We had to travel from Seoul to Iksan on the KTX to see some Pastors who were planning a trip to Australia. This was very exciting for me because a few years before I had spent time with Pastors in Iksan and Gunsan so it was a bit of a reunion but it was also exciting to be part of the planning for the team going from Korea to Australia.

We had a wonderful lunch together.

Unfortunately it was only a day trip because we were leaving for home the next day. We had such a wonderful holiday and had done so much while we were away that we weren't ready to leave but at the same time we were ready to be in our own home again.

I couldn't finish this Korea trip blog post without sharing photos of all the Korean t-shirts and Korean socks I bought :-)

Buddhist Temple and Suwon Folk Village

From the Hwaseong fortress we made our way to a park for a picnic lunch. We had delicious home made kimbap, rice cakes and fruit.

Then we headed to a Buddhist temple.

And then on to the Suwon Folk Village. This was the first time we had taken all the children there so they had a lot of fun looking at the way people used to live in Korea.

We watched a horse riding display

We also saw a wedding demonstration

Our children enjoyed dressing up in soldier costumes. They tried out the see-saws and the stick game. The folk village is fantastic to let the kids have some space to let off some energy.

We ended the day with some delicious tea

We had such a wonderful day in Suwon, meeting new friends and seeing new sights. We had thought we would be catching the subway home but our new friends drove us all the way back to Seoul which was a great treat for us.

We were very tired but not so tired that we couldn't go to Myeong Dong for dinner!!

Great memories :-)

A South Korean meal in South Australia

My husband and I were invited to a friends house for a special Korean dinner this week. We were told that this meal wouldn't be experienced in any Korean restaurant but we had no idea what that meant until we were actually eating it!

Let me start by explaining that all the ingredients used were natural, no artificial flavours, sweeteners, preservatives, etc. The plates we ate off were handmade so that there were no added chemicals in the making of the plates and bowls. We were told the bowls in front of us cost about $120 each, so you can imagine we were very careful when we touched them! And the most important information is our friend is an amazing cook and has an amazing gift of giving and hospitality!!

This was our menu for the night.

We started with many entree dishes (The photos aren't in any order and we didn't take photos of all the dishes)

This is mool kimchi

The bird feathers are broccoli and mushroom wraps (that's my best English interpretation ;-))

I love the flavours of this stuffed quid

This mushroom was also amazing

This was definitely a new experience for the tastebuds!

And then we had main course :-)

And we finished with tea and biscuits. (You might remember we made biscuits and had a tea ceremony in Jeonju last year.)

This meal took 8 adults three hours to eat!! I doubt I will ever eat this well again :-)

Suwon - Hwaseong Fortress

There really were so many highlights for me during this trip to Korea but our day trip to Suwon really was a highlight for me.

We met up with friends and rode the subway to Suwon. It's quite a long trip from Seoul to Suwon but it's well worth the effort and a great excuse to catch up on any lack of sleep you may be experiencing because of all the sight seeing you're trying to cram in!!

I am always amazed by the hospitality we receive in Korea. Our friends had organised with thier friends to meet us at the stop in Suwon. Those friends had hired a van, organised an esky full of cool drinks and had made a picnic lunch, including kimbap and rice cakes and fruit, for all of us. We had never met them before and yet they gave up a full day to be our tour guides in Suwon!! We definitely felt spoilt.

We only had one day in Suwon but I think we did so many things there that it will require a couple of blog posts.

Our first stop was the Hwaseong Fortress. It was one of those places I'd heard about but we just hadn't had the time to get there. When planning this trip I knew I didn't want to leave Korea without going to Suwon and seeing the Hwaseong Fortress. The day we went was really hot so we looked through the museum and enjoyed some time in the airconditioning. Then we watched a display of soldiers with swords and spears.

We then walked up the hill to catch a train that took us at around the fortress. Originally I had hoped we would walk around the wall but with the heat being so strong I was glad to sit in an open train. (The kids were definitely happy not having to walk)

At the end of the train ride we got out and the boys tried their hand at archery.

All this and we had only just started the day:-)

I definitely recommend a trip to Hwaseong Fortress if you're going to Suwon.