Korea, part 1

Last Saturday night I arrived at Busan international airport. Lida and Pieter were waiting for me on time, even after being stuck in a huge traffic jam. The arrival was smooth and easy and there were no lines at customs, just the way I like it!

There were some lines in Guangzhou but I avoided them as I can now go through the special channel. The security check was ridiculously strict. They scanned my shoes in the X-ray machine and also swiped the bottom of my feet...... I wonder what they were hoping to find there. The flight was on time and landed a bit ahead of schedule. It wasn't completely full so I had an empty chair next to me.

First terrace in the sun. A place named Schumann & Clara ;)

We drove from Busan to Geoje island, Okpo city in about an hour. We were all hungry so we went straight to dinner. Choice of the evening was German food. No rushing into Korean food needed as that is available in China as well..... None of us are kimchi fans anyway.

The bridge between Busan and Geoje

After dinner we went home and chilled out for a bit. I went to bed completely knackered. I can tell I'm not traveling by myself anymore! 

Sunday morning started with a cozy, leisurely breakfast. Very yummy and Western food only ;) Think pancakes, jam, sirup, bread........

Then it was time to head out and explore the island. We drove around and enjoyed the scenery.

I had to pee very frequently (no wondering why there) and this was the first toilet stop of the day:

Nicely placed toilet!

Oh the joy of hanging out with Dutch friends :) They understand that terraces are made to sit on whenever the weather allows. They also understand that there is no need to run off as soon as you finish one beverage. Nope, most likely you order another one. 

Even after almost 12,5 years of marriage Haiwen still has some problems with this very important aspect of life ;) After terrace number 1 we drove around some more, until we ended up at terrace number 2.

View from the second terrace in the sun

On Monday Pieter had to work. Lida and I went for a small hike. It was nice to be in the forest and later around some rice fields. Some of the path was quite steep but nothing compared to other hikes in the area. Spring hasn't arrived fully yet so nature was mostly brown. Maybe the hike wasn't so small for bump and me after all: in the evening I could hardly walk! Soaking in a warm bath eased up most of the tension in my lower back so then I was OK again. Wish I could take a nice bath right now because my left hip has gone achy. 

Lida, bump and me on the second terrace

At lunch time we met up with Pieter and went out for Mexican food. After lunch Lida and I went to another town to look around a bit. We also did some grocery shopping for dinner. 

'Andijvie stamppot met spekjes' was on the menu. There's no andijvie available in Korea but chicory comes close enough. Yum, yum!

Okpo by day

The weekend before I arrived, some important snack creation had been done: bitterballen!!

We had them a few times throughout the week, mostly as an afternoon snack. It really was a trip back to Dutch food. Not only for me, but also for Lida and Pieter ;)

Okpo by night

Lida is right on top of Dutch TV developments so we watched a lot of downloaded Dutch shows.