The Forest Crocodile and Rats!

And so, day two of our road trip began. Our first stop: Hermanns Denkmal. Hermann is a modern translation of the original name, Arminius.He is known to have led a coalition of several Germanic tribes in rising against Rome. Three Roman legions were destroyed and because of this, Germania did not become a Roman province. As the unifier of several Germanic tribes There’s more for you to read!

Deoksung Palace

In Seoul, you can find five “grand palaces”. Most tourists are likely to visit only one or two, but if you wish to visit all, an “integrated-ticket-of-palaces” can save you some money. In general though, if you like to visit cultural sites you are at luck in Korea. The entry fees for these places are barely high whereas the entry fees There’s more for you to read!

Busan day one

It’s amazing how quiet Koreans are during a 4-hour bus journey. Maybe everyone wanted to try and sleep to get it over with or maybe it’s custom to be quiet in Korea. Wait- a 4-hour bus journey? A 4-hour bus journey to Busan, Korea’s seconds largest city. It has 3.6 million citizens compared to 25.6 million citizens in Seoul. We There’s more for you to read!

Surrounded by mist on Udo Island

On our last day on Jeju, we took a ferry to Udo Island. What is so special about Udo Island? I guess it has this rare quality of making you feel as if you’re in a movie. And with that, I mean a… ‘you’re surrounded by mist with monsters waiting for you’ movie. Do you know that one movie, The There’s more for you to read!

Yakcheonsa Buddhist Temple

Located about 10 to 15 minutes away from the pond of God is the Yakcheonsa Buddhist Temple. Its name means carries the meaning of the temple where medicine water flows. Looking at its recent completion in 1990 you’d expect to find a modern looking temple. However, it was built after the style of the Buddhist temples of the early Joseon There’s more for you to read!

Monkeys in our backyard

We just rolled out of bed after a text had come in earlier. Alya was coming to our neighbourhood; she asked if we were already awake. “She probably wants to meet up in the evening and is simply checking on beforehand,” Ina said. Turns out wishful thinking doesn’t always work, haha. Alya was already here, waiting for us in a There’s more for you to read!

The pond of God

Ina’s feet were still red once we woke up. The plan of visiting Udo Island was wiped off the table and instead we decided to take the more relaxed option; visiting waterfalls. When I think about waterfalls, I associate it with a lot of walking because that’s how I remember it from childhood vacations with my parents. It is not like There’s more for you to read!

To the summit of the Hallasan mountain!

As pointed out in my previous post, we woke up at 5:30. The alarm clock rang which was equal to a canon getting fired in my dream. Seconds ago, Jack sparrow had been walking in front of me. Aye. Even though we haven’t slept much that night, it wasn’t hard for me to get up. It took a walk, a There’s more for you to read!

Exploring Jeju

Last evening we flew to Jeju-do Island and used our time in the evening to figure out what we’d do tomorrow. We decided to go to the Hallasan Mountain with the idea that we would still have enough energy on our first day. There are several hiking trails but only two that lead to the summit which is where we There’s more for you to read!

Gay supporters, OUT

Yesterday we encountered a protest against gay marriage and or sexuality. We were heading for one of the small palaces in Seoul after leaving the National Palace Museum of Korea. Right before the entrance of this place, people were sitting in rows while holding signs as they looked up to the stage in front of them. There were a few people There’s more for you to read!

Nothing touristic, just Korean food

I have gotten rid of my jet lag and by now feel settled. These first few days we have mainly been out for food, (bubble) tea, buying a few essential things and meeting up with others. There are 5 others from Ina’s University in Seoul. One of them had her birthday on Saturday and Truci, one of Ina’s flatmates had There’s more for you to read!

Arriving in Korea

Sleeping on a plane sucks. I am writing this at 3:23 am, Dutch time after my 37th attempt to sleep has failed. I think I have tried every position in every possible creative way, but it’s simply not working. There is the foetus position, the with your head on the table position, the pretend the window is a pillow position There’s more for you to read!

Preparing my trip to South Korea

A month ago, my tennis trainer asked me if I was already counting down the days. My dad came with the same question one and a half week later while Yeşim has been saying I’m going to be so far away every time I see her. The truth is, no one really seems to be aware that I am leaving There’s more for you to read!