"Camping"

I forgot to post about this. At the end of the summer vacation, Mrs. Yu asked if I wanted to go "camping" with her church group. I like those people, so I was glad to say yes! I wasn't sure what to expect, and indeed, I didn't hear anything more about it until the day of the trip. So I threw a few extra things in my bag just in case I needed them. One of them was a swimsuit. Good thing I did! On the other hand, it wasn't what you or I would usually term "camping."

Basically, we stayed at a lodge in a small village resort spot. The whole area of the countryside was full of resorts, hotels, and swimming spots. The rivers were full of people playing and swimming. I spent much of the trip (including the car rides) with the Ha family, one of the members of the church group, and one I like very much. Their middle-school-aged daughter, Sun-Yoon, speaks good English and is exceptionally friendly, smart, and cute. She informed me that the rivers were full of Korean children and fathers, and that Korean mothers were all camped on the shore, hiding in the shade of the tents. She went on to teasingly explain that her mother, like all Korean mothers, was afraid of any water that was more than ankle-deep.

The resort was near a famous mountain spring which remains frozen all summer long, despite the heat. We hiked up to see it, although there was no ice at the moment, only blasts of cold air coming from under the rock. The weekend was a great one, with good weather, and the location was beautiful. Click on the cut for some photos!

The Ha Family. This photo was actually taken at a different time, but I wanted to be able to show them. They are great people!

Me with Sun-Yoon and her mother.

Here's our cabin at the resort. We had two booked, one for men and one for women. During the day, the women's cabin was used for socializing and cooking. Each cabin featured a small kitchen and a large bathroom/shower, but no furniture. We slept on mats on the floor.

Here's a view of the river where we played and swam a bunch. It had crystal-clear water and just enough current to make it fun/a little dangerous.

Here's a view of the resort, including the swimming pool, where we also played and swam a lot, and the lovely mountains in the background.

We made samgyupsal on the deck in the evening. We also played games, including speed reaction games, and a funny version of charades.

Swimming with Sun-Yoon at night. The two young girls at the top of the picture also played with me. Along with the little boy shown, we were the only "children." There was nobody my age, so I mostly just hung out with the kids.

I even got a chance to use the float!

Here's the group together for a group shot. Mrs. Yu is the lady in the blue shirt to the right of me, and her husband, Mr. Kim, is next to her.

On our way to the frozen spring, we passed some more rivers full of people.

Here I am at the spring. There wasn't much to see, and a big fence prevented people from getting close. But the draft from the rocks was very refreshing in the heat. The rock I am sitting on was quite chilly to touch.

There are numerous waterfalls in the area, so we hiked back down via the waterfall-viewing route. Here's one.

And me standing under it.

Here's a sign that says "Don't Approach" or "Keep Back," with everyone blatantly ignoring it. People casually walked right up to the falls itself and even stood right underneath the cascading water.

Another waterfall, but the view was ruined by a camera crew from a Korean TV show. They were there to film some mountain climbers, but sadly, the action hadn't started yet, so we didn't get to see anything.

Last waterfall on the way down.