Where To Next?

I like tea.  I like tea flavored with a ton of sugar and milk, especially if it is delicious milk tea from a Taiwanese 7/11.  Koreans love green tea, and while it is too strong for me by itself, I will gladly drink it in latte form.

I went to see the most famous Korean green tea location.  Tourists flock to the Boseong green tea fields to take selfies, buy some green tea, and relax in beautiful surroundings.

The main downside to Boseong is the fact it’s a long ways away from Cheonan.  It is a 2 and a half hour bus ride to Gwangju from Cheonan.  Once you get to Gwangju, it’s another 1 and a half hour bus trip to the town of Boseong.  I spent the night in Gwangju and went to Boseong in the morning to split up the trip.

I had noodle soup with delicious, fresh mussels in Boseong.  It’s a small town so I just chose the first restaurant I saw and it was a great decision.

I would go back to Boseong just for this soup

I also saw the restaurant owner at the convenience store later that day and we spoke for a little bit.  Small town life.

From the Boseong bus terminal, you can take a taxi or a short bus ride on a local bus to the tea fields.  Or if you are feeling like more exercise, you could walk.

Before you arrive at the actual fields, you walk through a lovely forest.  Entrance to the park was 4,000 won.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw the field of green tea.  It’s hard to tell from the pictures just how tall the hills were.

There a few cafes and little shops selling green tea, green tea lattes, green tea milkshakes, green tea ice cream, green tea cookies, green tea crackers, green tea jellies, green tea teapot sets, green tea chips, green tea skin moisturizers, green tea cake, and almost anything you can think of containing green tea.

green tea milk shake

mini bamboo forest

It’s no surprise that I stick out a little here.  South Korea is an extremely homogenized society.  About 97% of the population is ethnically Korean.

But that percentage doesn’t apply to Itaewon.

Itaewon is in the Yongsan district of Seoul.  A lot of immigrants live there and it is close to an U.S. military base.  I went there one weekend because I was told there was authentic Mexican food, an elusive cuisine in this country.  I was no longer the only non-korean person in the crowd.

You can find Mexican, Turkish, American, Uzbek, Indian, Pakistani, Russian, Mongolian, Kazakh, and who knows how many other types of food.

I was going to get tacos until I came across an Uzbek restaurant.  I know nothing about Uzbek food, but if this is what it looks like, I need to get on the next plane to Samarkand.

lamb kebabs, rice, bread, and plenty of veggies

the restaurant decor

The restaurant is called Lazzat and I can’t even remember how I found it.  I was just wandering around Itaewon station and I saw a sign for Uzbek food on the second floor of a random building.

I also tried Turkish tea.  I like my coffee or tea with lots of sugar and milk because I’m a wimp.  This tea was so tasty I didn’t need more than one tiny sugar cube.

I bought some cookies to go with it

Itaewon is also well-known for Namsan tower and Namsan mountain.  You can see all of Seoul from the tower and the mountain is popular with hikers.  I didn’t get to the tower this time, but I did go to a beautiful park near the mountain.

What can I say, I like parks.

I wish I could say I came across these bears in the wild while hiking through mountains.  Okay, no I don’t.  I hope I never run into wild bears.

Apparently Bear Tree Park is popular with American military members who come to Korea with families and Korean families with young kids.

I know the concerns people have with zoos seeing how you can’t always tell how the animals are treated.  The animals I saw were clean and didn’t seem to be underweight, but I’m definitely not an expert on these matters.

An adult ticket is 13,000 won or about $13.  You can take a bus or train to Jochiwon station and then a bus or taxi to the park.  Be careful taking the bus though because they only go out to the park a few times during the day.  I think they assume that most people coming have little kids and their own cars.

The park itself is worth seeing.  There are so many different flowers and trees and the park isn’t so big that it is overwhelming.

There was a cafe and a mini food court (which was closed that day) but we ate at the restaurant inside the welcome house.  We didn’t realize it would be as fancy as it was, there were steaks and pasta.  When I think of a park or zoo, I think of hot dogs and french fries.

Besides bears, there were also white peacocks, which I didn’t know existed.

The bears are called Manchurian Black Bears.  The park pamphlet said you could walk the baby bears and feed them milk from a bottle.  Baby or not, I don’t want to be that up-close-and-personal with wild animals.

bigger bears!

When you think of Korea, you probably don’t think of beaches.  I don’t see a lot of movies featuring crazy Korean beach parties or beautiful ocean montages.

But I’m from Missouri, so I’m easily impressed with any beach.  That probably wouldn’t be the case if I was from Hawaii or Florida.

I had a few days off in the middle of the week and I didn’t use nearly as much money as I thought I would in Japan, so I booked a fancy smancy hotel by the beach in Daecheon.

Daecheon beach is in the city of Boryeong.  You can take a bus, but the train doesn’t take as long.  Once you arrive at Daecheon station, you can take a local bus to the beach.

I like hostels but it is nice to have your own big bed and tv with room service every once in a while.  I still have the financial mindset of a college student most of the time, so this splurge won’t happen often.

I hung out by the beach, had some tasty waffles, seafood pasta, and watched a harry potter marathon.  The water was nice, the beach wasn’t crowded, and the hotel was great.  Why can’t everyone hang out on the beach every day?

nice hotel…

…with an amazing view!

seafood pasta, with the obligatory side of pickles