Gyeongpo Lake

안녕! 

Gangneung is beautiful. I am so happy that we chose a seaside town! The air is much cooler than it is in Seoul, and it's generally so much nicer. We decided to check out a few of the tourist spots here. On the first day in Gangneung, we walked towards Gyeongpo lake. It's huge! It's not too far from the hotel, a good 30 minutes walk. It took us about an hour because I was taking pictures and wandering into a few shops. Also eyeing up the fish they had on display. 

There's a bunch of restaurants which have these tanks outside. Some are full of sea food. Alive! It's so fresh. It's amazing. I'm not sure about the sustainability of the fish though. On the 31st Jan 2014, the FAO and S. Korea have agreed to work closely together to promote responsible fishing and aquaculture.

One day I'll be confident enough to walk into one of these restaurants and order fresh raw fish! My favorite. 

The beaches are pretty nice too. Their sand is pretty course, and waves are pretty big. I've not been in the sea yet, but hopefully soon. 

Apparently, people come here during the first full moon of the year. According to wikipedia, there's a pavilion overlooking the lake called Gyongpodae and you can see the moon five times. The one in the sky, the one reflected into the lake, the one reflected into the sea, the one reflected in the drinking glass and the one in the eyes of a lover.  

The lake is about 9.417km. We walked right around it. There are little statues which tell a story. There's some gruesome ones where a guy is about to chop someone's head off. Other's are about love. 

These bugs you see here are hella noisy! They're a bit like crickets, they make a noise using a part of their body. I watched this one for ages, and it makes a noise using it's butt. They are ALL over Korea and you'll hear them everywhere. I think they're called Cicadas. Ugly creatures. 

Half way around the lake, next to a few weird museums (gramophone museum and the best film museum) was a restaurant we decided to try. It was the first one we saw. We basically asked the lady for her choice and she gave us this. She spoke no English, and kept repeating ("pishu") for fish. We didn't mind and was quite comfortable with anything. 

And this is what we got. Brilliant! I assume the fish, rice and the salad were part of the meal. Everything else, the soup, and sides were all complimentary. Korean's are great for their side dishes! It's what I love about eating out here. There looks a lot, but it's not too bad. The sides were mainly vegetables. It was 25,000원 for the lot, so it's one of the pricier things you can get in Korea. 

Here were the sides. I have no idea of the names! But they were great!!! 

This was my favorite. Oh wow, it was so good! I wish I asked her for the name of it. It's kinda like spinach, marinated in a sweet sauce. 

Chilli's in a soybean paste. It's not spicy thankfully. 

Potato kimchi I guess? It was good. I ate all of this. David hates potato so he didn't even touch it. 

Little fishies! I loved these too. 

Some sort of squash? 

I wasn't a fan of this. I have no idea what it was but it was a weird texture, chewy with glass noodles in the middle. Maybe it was konjac root?

The fish. Well we tucked in before I took a photo.There were three whole fish (including heads!). I don't know what kind, but they were fantastic. I'm a bit wary of fish. I really don't like bones! But I gave it a go and it was fine. I choked on a bone as a kid, and it got stuck side ways in my throat. 

We then walked through the wetlands, where there were prickly water lilies. There was a lot of wildlife to be seen. Mainly birds. I was quite proud of myself. A lady working in the information hut tried to speak to me in Korean. I used my Korean book and it told me to say "Chôn Hang-guk-mal mo-ta-yo" which means I don't speak Korean. A girl on Youtube also said I could say "Na Hang-gul-mal mo-ta-to" I'm not sure which is the correct one, 

That night we didn't fancy going out at all, so we went and found some instant noodles to have in the hotel room. It was raining in the evening, with thunderstorms! I was a little scared...they're much louder here than in the UK. The rain was nice though, it cooled the air slightly. 

As you can see, Gangneung is really pretty. I'm falling in love with the place. I really hope I feel the same way when I start teaching! 

'till next time,