Oh Yeosu!

Buddah's birthday left us with a pleasant Friday holiday and we jumped on the opportunity for a three day getaway. All of our apartment crew joined us on a train expedition to a small coastal city called, "Yeosu." This quaint port town lies at the central tip of South Korea in Jeollanamdo province. Our entire goal was to enjoy a lazy beach trip before the stress of packing. Due to ceaseless rain, beach time = not so much. Luckily, adventures can be had in the rain.

On Friday, we were fo

rced to stand on the first bus for 1.5 hours due to traveling hoards. Despite endless planning, we could not get a bus ticket ahead of time for the first leg of our trip.It is one of the few holiday weekends not tied to family in Korea; just like how everyone and their mom goes camping on Memorial Day.

We arrived around three and popped over to Odongdo Island. This scenic island is covered in craggy cliffs, caves, and gardens. We enjoyed outdoor rock acupuncture and musical fountains as we bobbled around the hills. The highlight came when we stumbled upon a group of elderly women having a shindig in a shady pathway. We joined in the clapping and got invited to their jamboree. After a few traditional tunes, we got summoned to sing. Forrest (the musical talent) busted out, "Stand by Me" and they loved us in no time. Apples and beer for all!

On the way back, we found a makeshift restaurant vending live octopus on the cement aside the sea. Of course Jake jumped at the chance for the freshest food possible and we plopped down on the mats with a half a dozen Korean families. If you haven't eaten octopi before, you should know that the squiggly creatures are literally chopped into one inch pieces, yet wiggle relentlessly until you chew them to death. Want to try?

Saturday and Sunday were filled with endless rain. We journeyed to a mountainous temple and a black sand beach. The area was talked up quite a bit on wikitravel, but didn't exactly exude the lively cafes it boasted. Instead it was an abandoned, small town beach with dirty shores -we'll blame it on the weather. We managed to find one seaside restaurant ope n named, "Carp Island." This place blew our mind by serving sandwiches with the ultimate side - whip cream! Everyone was looking for the four-year old cook to surface - no sightings thus far.
The evening adventures started with an arcade where I finally tried dance, dance revolution. Jake won- unbelievable! Must have been all those years of video games. Next, we rounded up some soju and ordered colas in the basement of Lotteria (like McDonalds) to get out of the rain. A gaggle of 15 year olds provided an hour of entertainment with pestering questions and giggles. They especially liked when Michael hit his head on a tv - snap.

Later we hopped on a bus to a bar with free pool, fooze ball and wii. The Canadian staff alerted us of holiday specials and we stayed for the long hall. We learned a Canadian coin game using a Tooney. Everyone gets a shot of beer to start. You flip the coin, bear = drink and queen = pass the shot. Now, the odds seem decent, but some how it stacks up against certain people and they end up with 5 shots at once. If everyone flips a queen for one round straight, a whiskey shot is added. Kim and Jesse were the big winners, or losers, depending on how you view it. I recommend trying this ONLY at home and ONLY with beer.

Enjoy some pics and visit Yeosu when there is less chance of rain.