Tongyeong

I had a chance last week to experience a "package trip" tour in Korea and I must say it was quite an experience and one I won't forget anytime soon. HA! Dana (English name, her Korean name is Mi Sun) who is our director at Kids College asked Sam and I if we wanted to go with her on a package trip down to the sea. Of course I said yes and so she said she would plan the whole thing. She said there would be a few stops along the way and people would try to sell us something, but then we would go to the sea and we could do whatever we wanted there. The trip was quite cheap because of course they are hoping to sell people on stuff along the way, and so to get them on the bus they make the trip quite affordable (20,000 Won). I figured what the heck, I can't really speak much Korean anyway so what do I have to lose...I could just look at the person and shrug my shoulders or say "molayo" Korean for "I don't know." We left Cheonan at around 7:30 AM, they fed us some kimbap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimbap on the bus, it was actually quite good. I had brought my MP3 and was hoping to get a little sleep on the way, however...as I have said before Koreans LOVE to talk on microphones, so our hostess started talking on this microphone and of course there was a big speaker right about my seat. I assumed she was welcoming all of us and telling us about the days events. I swear she talked for 30 minutes and went on and on. Right after she finished, she turned on this AWFUL music and of course had it cranked up...so there went my chance to get any sleep. We were riding along on the bus and then took an exit in a very rural area. After a few turns on a dirt road we pulled up into this little place that, much to my surprise, had elk in these little tiny corrals. All of them were de-antlered which was quite a surprise to me. So...we go into this little building and the guy starts to talk. I asked Dana what they heck he was talking about and I found out that Koreans (well some) like to drink the juice from elk and deer antlers...it is some sort of a health drink I guess. Of course since Sam and I were the foreigners he wanted us to drink it. He handed both of us some and usually I am cool with trying new stuff, but at 9 AM I didn't feel like drinking antler juice so I passed it back to Dana. After his presentation (which lasted about 35 minutes) they brought in all of these ladies to try and get us to buy this juice. I found out it was 350,000 Won for a supply! No one bought any and the guy was upset and so was our "guide" lady. So...we all piled on the bus and headed to our next stop. It was a Korean Black Ginseng place. They brought in some famous Korean wrestler guy (I don't speak Korean, but I can usually figure out what people are talking about) and he was trying to sell us on how great this product was. After him, another true salesman came in and talked for about 30 minutes. Of course...once again Sam and I being the foreigners he wanted us to drink some ginseng. I actually did and it was ok, but not all that great. They were trying hard to sell some ginseng and one lady bought, but that wasn't enough. So they started throwing in all of these free products. Well, the lady was upset then and she wanted the free products too, and after a little bit of talking they decided to give her the free items as well. Two other people bought the ginseng (for 500,000 Won! around $425) and so everyone was happy. Finally we were on our way to Tongyeong.

We got there at around 1 PM and it is a really pretty place. It is right on the Korean straight and there are tons and tons of little islands all over. The spot we went to had a gondola ride up to the top of a little mountain (this was included in the package trip) and so we hopped in the gondola and went to the top. The view was amazing and I really wish that my pictures would have turned out a little better. It was a little cloudy but still a really pretty view. Dana said on a clear sunny day that you can see to the Japanese island of Tsushima (well, with some binoculars. They had some set up that you can pay and look through it) which I think is about 70 miles from Tongyeong. I was happy to finally have seen the sea, as Korea is surrounded by water and I still hadn't even seen it yet.

We hiked around up on the mountain for a while and got some cool pictures and then had to head back. The bus ride home was quite long and so to make the time pass by some of the older Korean men broke out the soju http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soju and offered it around the bus. Of course I don't drink so I declined but Sam helped himself to some. Most of the people on the bus were in their 50s (I was the youngest person) and they were all having a good time and wanted to start dancing. So they out on some music and people started dancing in the isle of the bus...it was hilarious. There was a car accident and so we had to sit in traffic for a while and all was well until our tour guide announced that they would NOT be serving us dinner as they had earlier promised because of the traffic delay. Well...all of the drunk old men were NOT HAPPY and so they started yelling at the lady. It got a little tense but after some shouting and arguing, everyone calmed down and we made it back to Cheonan around 9PM. Wow...what a trip! HA! Dana said that was the first time she had been on a package trip and it would be her last too!