THE CREW!!!(Photo Credit Jean)
Biker babes(Photo Credit Jean)
(Photo Credit Jean)
Set up camp
(Photo Credit Jean)
Set up camp(Photo Credit Jean)
Bridges connecting the islands
Bridges connecting the islands(Photo Credit Jean)
A wee party on the beach
A wee party on the beach(Photo Credit Jean)
Our party
Our party(Photo Credit Jean)
Card games, munchies, beer and Megan's poor scooter accident leg
Card games, munchies, beer and Megan's poor scooter accident leg(Photo Credit Jean)
Late night island walk
Lazy day on the beach
Late night island walkKiller crabs, HUGE beetles and insane grasshopper sightings
(Photo Credit Jean)
Lazy day on the beach(Photo Credit Jean)
A long trip home...
A long trip home...(Photo Credit Jean)
DEEEElicious HOT noodles with clams
Late night party crew
What a view- right from our campsite
Amazing cold noodles- yes there is ice in there
Razor clam digging & Jenny
Step 1: Dig off a layer of sand & pour salt into the little holes you see
Step 2: When the little disgusting worm thing pokes out GRAB IT
Step 3: You're looking at it
DEEEElicious HOT noodles with clams
Late night party crew
What a view- right from our campsite
Amazing cold noodles- yes there is ice in there
Razor clam digging & Jenny
Step 1: Dig off a layer of sand & pour salt into the little holes you see
Step 2: When the little disgusting worm thing pokes out GRAB IT
Step 3: You're looking at itA couple weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get an invite to venture out to an island off the East Coast of Korea called Seonyudo. It's a series of little islands all grouped together and it's GREAT! They are connected by bridges and extremely small. You pitch a tent on the beach and there's bathrooms and all for you to use (they even have toilet paper- a luxury in public bathrooms in Korea).
The island is small and really there weren't many people there except the locals. It was a nice little get away. The only downside was the travel time there and back- I feel like I took every possible mode of transportation to get there except horseback. We left the Hwaj after work and took the bus into Seoul to catch the KTX out to Daejeon to spend the night there at a friend's place. The KTX is this insanely FAST train in Korea...it was nice! We got up bright and early to get the slowww train out to where we needed to catch the ferry. Cabbed it to the ferry terminal and then ferried our way out to the island. Once there we took a little golf cart thing to the campsite. Phew. It was a nice and sunny weekend- HOT. That afternoon we grabbed some cold noodles and decided to rent scooters and zip around the islands. It was pretty amazing! The scenery was beautiful! I definitely didn't feel like I was in Korea- it was like a mini-vacay away from the city living!
The island is small and really there weren't many people there except the locals. It was a nice little get away. The only downside was the travel time there and back- I feel like I took every possible mode of transportation to get there except horseback. We left the Hwaj after work and took the bus into Seoul to catch the KTX out to Daejeon to spend the night there at a friend's place. The KTX is this insanely FAST train in Korea...it was nice! We got up bright and early to get the slowww train out to where we needed to catch the ferry. Cabbed it to the ferry terminal and then ferried our way out to the island. Once there we took a little golf cart thing to the campsite. Phew. It was a nice and sunny weekend- HOT. That afternoon we grabbed some cold noodles and decided to rent scooters and zip around the islands. It was pretty amazing! The scenery was beautiful! I definitely didn't feel like I was in Korea- it was like a mini-vacay away from the city living!
Scootering was successful! We zipped around- I love the scooters! I managed to get amazingly burnt (my own fault). Later the day just took a nap while the others frolicked the beach and dug for razor clams. They were pretty cool/disgusting. Plan was to eat them later (which didn't end up happening and I wasn't really upset about that!) Later in the night we freshened up and went for dinner- mmmmm Kahl Gook Su!! It's these floury lovely noodles in a broth with clams (well we wanted clams)....so yummy! It's hearty and just wonderfly delicious! Clearly I would add to it the red sauce (which is somewhat like spicey ketchup)- to me it enhances the flavour...The kimchi there was great and I'm slightly ashamed to admit this (after having ranted about how HORRIBLE kimchi was when I first got to Korea...) I actually really like kimchi now! It's definitely a flavour you need to aquire but after having been in Korea for 6 months now- I fancy it. I'll probably even miss it when I get back to Canada- whenever that may be.
Later after dinner we met up with 2 guys that were working there that were friends of friends...they didn't speak great English (one not at all)...but it was enough to get by. We also had Korean speaking girls along with our crew so it made for a great time! We bought big bottles of Hite, grabbed munchies and hit the beach. There were even some sparklers involved. We played games, drank and laughed. Some of the others hit the sack and a couple of us decided to hit up the ocean for some late nite swimming- the most breathtaking thing ever happened. One of the guys told me he wanted to show me something...put my hands under the water and wave them around frantically- all of a sudden it was like my hands were glowing this beautiful purple colour!! The plankton was lighting up! It was insane!!! I couldn't stop moving my hands- as lame as this sounds it was magical!!! I felt like a little kid! Here is a little explanation I copied from a website:
"Certain creatures both on land and sea can produce light through chemical reactions taking place within their bodies known as Bioluminescence. The bioluminescence results from a light-producing chemical reaction also called chemiluminescence. Certain types of chemicals when mixed together produce energy which ‘excites’ other particles on vibration and generate light which causes the glow. The group of chemicals involved to make plankton glow are broadly termed luciferins and the light is produced by a series of oxidation reactions set off by a catalyst called luciferase. The bioluminescence in plankton is very high in several forms of Plankton and is a form of cold light or luminescence.
Plankton consists of any drifting organism (plant or animal) that inhabit the oceans and provide a vital source of food to larger aquatic organisms such as fish. A vast range of plankton, both zoo plankton and single-celled animal plankton are known to be bioluminescent. Bioluminescent plankton occur in all the world’s oceans.The most common of these are Dinoflagellates which are tiny unicellular marine plankton also known as fire plants.
Dinoflagellates are the most common source of bioluminescence in our oceans and the chances are the sparks flying off your oar, the bow or wake of your boat are billions of tiny dinoflagellates or copeopods. These creatures get their name by their ability to swim by two flagella, which are movable protein strands attached to their bodies.
Bioluminescence is used to evade predators and acts as a defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. Dinoflagelletes produce light when disturbed and will give a light flash lasting a fraction of a second. The flash is meant to attract a predator to the creature disturbing or trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also surprises the predator causing it to worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.
However the experience of swimming in the midst of these amazing creatures is something that must be witnessed at least once by every scuba diver or avid snorkeler. Several Dive Operators offer special bioluminescent plankton dives or snorkeling expeditions, in seasons when plankton is at its peak brought by ocean currents. These swims would usually be in absolute darkness to witness the both the starry skies above and the starry seas below."
Plankton consists of any drifting organism (plant or animal) that inhabit the oceans and provide a vital source of food to larger aquatic organisms such as fish. A vast range of plankton, both zoo plankton and single-celled animal plankton are known to be bioluminescent. Bioluminescent plankton occur in all the world’s oceans.The most common of these are Dinoflagellates which are tiny unicellular marine plankton also known as fire plants.
Dinoflagellates are the most common source of bioluminescence in our oceans and the chances are the sparks flying off your oar, the bow or wake of your boat are billions of tiny dinoflagellates or copeopods. These creatures get their name by their ability to swim by two flagella, which are movable protein strands attached to their bodies.
Bioluminescence is used to evade predators and acts as a defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. Dinoflagelletes produce light when disturbed and will give a light flash lasting a fraction of a second. The flash is meant to attract a predator to the creature disturbing or trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also surprises the predator causing it to worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.
However the experience of swimming in the midst of these amazing creatures is something that must be witnessed at least once by every scuba diver or avid snorkeler. Several Dive Operators offer special bioluminescent plankton dives or snorkeling expeditions, in seasons when plankton is at its peak brought by ocean currents. These swims would usually be in absolute darkness to witness the both the starry skies above and the starry seas below."
After the late night swim I decided that the best bet was to sleep in a motel- more room and air-con. The tent we had fit 6 people and there were 7 of us so some of the other girls got a motel room...Next day got up, showered and hit the beach. I attempted to stay away from the sun- burnt BURNT from the day before. We hung out for a bit and then got a ride back to the ferry in a truck- an offer from one of the boys from the night before. The guys we hung out with were super nice- it was all in all a great weekend. We left the island at 3:15 and with all the different travelling stops and methods made it home around 10:30...exhausted. No matter though, it was an extremely memorable trip I was fortunate enough to have experienced with good company and good times!! xo
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