Summer Misc.

The Boryeong Mud Festival was one of the best weekends of the summer. Basically over the course of a couple weekends every foreigner in Korea and even a lot of Koreans converge on Boryeong, a little beach town on the west coast, where they get drunk and play in the mud. Supposedly the mud is good for your skin so the Koreans love it, the beer doesn't cost anymore that it does on a normal day and you can jump in a giant kiddie pool full of mud, so the foreigners love it more. Periodically they made us take a break from the mosh pit. This guy didn't get the message.

Mud everywhere.

On Labor Day I took another weekend excursion to Muido Island. Muido is very close to Seoul but feels a million miles away from the hectic city. Just a few villages catering to tourists dot the island.

Waiting for the ferry.

We headed to the nearest beach and rented a hut for the night. There were quite a few foreigners but we found lifelong friends in three Korean dudes who decided to adopt our group for the weekend. They fed us, they took us fishing, they rocked.

Nancy and Tim with our buddies. The huts are behind them, right on the beach.

Vacation.

Great meal.

The Ajuma showing me how to cook the scallops and clams.

When the sun went down I ate one of the best meals of my life. Fresh scallops and clams cooked over hot coals. WOW. Afterwards everyone who was staying on the beach chipped in and built a bonfire. There were some good musicians and the village store was happy to sell us beverages late into the night that none of us wanted to see end.

Woke up with a vicious headache. Wanted to fish.

Back in Seoul at one of our favorite hangouts. Family Mart! Nice to pull up a chair outside a convenience store and drink some brews, another cold one is always waiting inside.

ITAWON!