Sorak National Park

Mid-August we went on our first Korean mini-break and drove to Sorak National Park in Gangwan Province (Heavenly Blessed Land: Gangwan-do). The drive was quite lovely with mountain views and glimpses of the East Sea (Koreans don't say the Sea of Japan). Upon arrival, we took the Sorak Cable Car up Kwangomsan (a high, and very windy mountain), and admired the vista. There was a very small temple (Allak Temple) harboring a very wide monk with very bad cell-phone reception. I may have preferred chanting to shouting - but you have to stay connected I suppose.

Day two we trekked the easy Piryang Waterfall Trail, to admire the 13 waterfalls along the path and marvel at the trail's namesake that is said to look like a great flying dragon wending its way down the rocks. Climb was a bit rocky and unstable at times, but Jamie is a trooper and Iris enjoyed the ride. It was amazingly refreshing to be away from Seoul, and the mountains were indeed lovely.

The area is also a big beach destination. The East Sea beaches are lined with tenement no-frills pensions, tourist draws (horsewagons, family bikes, an Edison phonograph museum, and a man-made lake to stroll about), and boast sandy beaches equipped with requisite inner-tube rentals and beach umbrellas. Once again the beach day we chose was a rainy and windy one - but we played a bit for form's sake.
At the entrance to the National Park is Shinhungsa Temple which boasted a very large Buddha, vibrant guardian statues, and dragons adorning the stairwells. Jamie and Iris really like running about in sandy temple grounds, and mountain temples are extremely picturesque.
We stayed in the Kensington Stars Hotel, a British Theme Hotel complete with double-decker buses (this one unfortunately advertising something slightly rude), royal nick-knacks and peeling Victorian-inspired wall-paper. There were oh-so-British family Norebangs in the basement, but we did not indulge. The hotel had a great location, but not much else in its favour.
A few asides. Bottom right are the anti-tank defenses that line the roads. When blown up, they litter the highway with heavy concrete blocks preventing enemy passage. Top right are pictures of the Tyrolean-hatted bear and his small cub who offer advise throughout the National Park. The mountains are known for Sanchae or mountain vegetables, renowned in Temple food. The easier trails come to groups of colourful kiosks where women sit sorting and washing these chewy and slightly furry delicacies (centre bottom). Sanchae bibimbap (mid-left) is a regional dish that we ate at practically every meal while away. My jaw muscles were very strong by the end of the trip. Soraksan was well worth the visit, and would be stunning (though crowded) in the Autumn. The beaches probably merit another look next summer. Jamie thought it was all too far away and there wasn't enough for kids to play - but that was only because he wasn't allowed to stop at the giant Santa's Bouncy Castle at Sokcho beach. Next time we will take Brian to the Edison museum and let Jamie take a wagon ride. I will be happy to merely gaze at misty mountains and chew furry roots.

If the shoe fits

I really liked being a tourist when my friend Isabel came to stay at the end of the summer. Taking advantage of my nanny, we had a couple of baby-free days of just exploring parts of the city that I have always meant to spend more time in. Namdaemun market, pictured above, for example, still manages to take my breath away with its sheer number of ... everything. On this visit we were particularly struck by the sparkly belly-dancing gear, the dark food-alleys, the dank basements of imported goods (like the Creap Coffee featured above) and a wide array of gifts you wouldn't wish on anyone - like the robotic soldier toy who crawls along the ground preparing to launch his assault, the potty-sitter with sounds to match, and the temple socks declaring the surrounds a no-fart-zone. As always the range of vibrantly patterned polyester Ajumma clothes, complete with permed and visored Ajummas who don't hesitate to try on sequined cross-trainers (does this shoe fit?) and floral stretch-pants in public, won my vote for best Namdaemun sight.



Insadong: another perrenial favorite. We had a relaxing rainy stroll exploring the shops and galleries of Insadong-gil, and this time we did two big tourist tickets: the Old Tea House (yes, it's really called that) with its range of warm fruit teas, aging woodwork and live free-flying birds, and Sanchon Buddhist Restaurant, with it's lotus flower interior and fresh mountain fare. I really enjoyed both, perhaps because we caught them on a quiet rainy Monday, the better to evoke the traditional ambiance of the places, and that apart from us, they were fairly tourist-free. But the fact is, I like being a tourist in Seoul. It's not as though I am ever going to fit in, or fully understand what's going on - so why can't I just stand out, and take in what the city has to show me? If the shoe fits - I should probably wear it. Unless, of course - it's a a high-heeled Korean shoe. Which brings me to Dongdaemun. Apparently most of the big department stores here in Fashion Town are closed Mondays, but that allowed us to spend some time in the back alleys. We found Toy Street, Work-shirt Street, and Shoe Town. In this district you can wind your way all along the path of life for the perfect Korean shoe. Shops selling rubber soles, high heels (just the heels), buckles and embellishments give way to alleys and alleys of vendors of the finished creation. It is indeed an amazing sight, and a good source for craft supplies if you are of that persuasion. If the shoe doesn't fit - take it apart and make a different one.

Apart from permitting the exploration of some of my favorite neighbourhoods in more detail, and at a more sedate pace (we also did Bukchon Hanok village and I finally found the elusive Jeongdok Public Library and an education museum that may be child-friendly), Isabel's visit also took me to places as yet unseen. We went to Jogysa Temple in Insadong, but sight-seeing amidst the prayers and chanting was a little uncomfortable. Visiting the Bongeun Temple (1488) near COEX seemed less intrusive. Close by the temple is the "three royal tomb park" (Seonjeongneung) where the Bongeun Temple's founder, Queen Yun, lies buried. The Temple-tomb-trek here is a good one for visitors, offering a taste of historic Korea amidst the furiously-forward-facing-future-friendly COEX sky-rises. We lost our camera at the tombs, but responsible Brian went back for it an hour later. The delighted guards, who had been waiting for that foreign fellow they saw in the photos to appear in real life, happily handed it over. The shoe quite visibly fit. And here, below, are the photos that the guards had to entertain them in the duration. Those foreign children sure are cute!

A drowning man

When a friend asked Jamie how he liked living here, he said "Everything is CRAZY in Seoul." I think that's part of what keeps me sane. Last week, for example, I found myself downtown on a very narrow cobble stoned street, made narrower by the presence of a group of blue-shirted protesters singing mournfully under flowery banners. I edged across the street only to come face to face with a long line of riot-gear-clad police who had arrived to oversee the rally. Sticking to the middle of the road now, what should I see coming, but a parade of feather-hatted, drum-and-conch-shell-playing, regally bedecked reenactors doing their hourly changing-of-the-guards march. I deftly wove my way through these three colourful lines of men and thought indeed - things are crazy in Seoul.
Presenting, for your diversion, a few of the things that have amused me over the summer. Ah, English signage - how I do love you. Most recently - here is some historical erasure, meaningless large-scale billboards, polite invitations, warning signs, and suchlike.
As you can see, I am still loving the matching outfits, and the kids seem happy to play along. I

am also very fond of the way that cute matching couples are always equipped with a camera; and the boy is forever photographing his sweetie, even though he, and his matching pants, do not make it into the romantic record. Charmed by my children, a group of farmers at the Folk Village gave them this strange fruit. Spiky and squishy on the outside, it is filled with sweet red seeds resembling guts. If anyone knows what it is, please tell me. And finally, a small video demonstrating the inventiveness of Koreans, especially when it comes to cleanliness. Such are the fragments we shore up against our ruin: life rings to rescue a drowning man.

How I spent my summer vacation

So, in the 5 hot and rainy weeks between my return from Australia and Jamie's return to school we did the following: 3 Kid's cafes, 2 birthday parties, 2 public swimming pools (several times), 2 science/nature museums, 2 history museums, 2 children's museums, 1 folk village, 3 amusement parks, 2 palaces, 1 tower, 2 movies, 1 musical, 3 zoos, 1 dolphin show, 1 beach, 2 art shows, several playgrounds, 2 swimming streams, 2 river parks, 1 war memorial museum, 1 mountain adventure and many walks around different neighbourhoods searching for something else fun. Time just flew by. As you may have noticed, there has been no blogging. I'm not sure I can remedy that - but here are some photos.

This is the Gwacheon Science museum, located just outside of Seoul Grand Park (home of the Seoul Zoo, the Contemporary Art Gallery, the Children's Zoo, and Seoul Land). The Science museum is itself a giant complex containing 6 galleries, a planetarium, several outdoor ecological experiences, some trains and a rocket, and a life-scale dinosaur walking trail. In one of the galleries you can see some of the prehistoric sea creatures first discovered by Mary Anning, heroine of two of the novels I just finished reading. We saw very little of the museum on our first visit, but we did go to the special exhibition of kinetic sculptures by Theo Janson. These wood and sail monsters could move with the help of compressed air tubing and a skilled operator, and the demonstration, though long-winded and in Korean, was pretty cool. We could pose beside cut-outs of Mr. Janson (they really love the 2-D photo-op here), and there was an entire tent filled with building tubes and blocks where we spent a happy few hours seeking shelter from a deluge and building towers.

Ah birthday parties. With two children, we seem to be attending them fairly regularly. I finally went to a real Korean 1st birthday complete with baby boy twins, matching family outfits, a ballroom full of people and food to feed them, door prizes, video presentations, speeches, and fortune telling. I think they picked a car and money - but it was a little hard to follow. Also Jamie's favorite friend turned 4 and the kids had a ball at their own Banyan Tree gazebo bash. It was a nice way to end the long summer. When not invited to the pools of elite private clubs, the likes of us go to the public pools that line the Han River here in Seoul. Public pools are remarkable here. Amazingly crowded (but clean), they usually are a sea of tents and picnic blankets surrounding pools (generally 4: toddler, kids, lane-swim, play) that are chock full of floaters, pool rings, barbie-boats and the like. Families wear matching swim wear, order fried chicken to be delivered to their tent, and spend the day munching kimbap and taking turns pulling the young on inflated toys. The secret is not to resist. We bought many pool toys, erected our tent (useful when seeking shelter from the monsoons that hit every day of the summer), ordered our chicken and rode with the crowds.
Playgrounds: kids love them. Amusing the very young is not that tricky if you can bear the heat and the fact that kids get amazingly dirty and wet whenever left unattended for more than five minutes.
Many Seoulites go to beaches in the summer months. We only did this once, on a rainy day early in the season. Even to drive to Incheon beach is fairly far for a day trip given Seoul traffic, and on sunny days they are reportedly wall-to-wall beach umbrellas. The season is short. Beaches close here on August 31, which I think simply means that the restaurants (mostly live-fish BBQ) and other services (inner-tube and beach-umbrella rentals) that line the beaches shut-down. We have noticed that Koreans like very much to do things that other Koreans are doing (preferably many other Koreans). When the services go, so too do the people; empty beaches might as well be closed because no one would want to be there on their own. Koreans like crowds, so we have different ideas of a good beach day. The day we went, however, was perhaps too deserted, cold and drizzly even for us. The children were chased by a group of walking ajummas who wanted to hug them while having their photos taken. The children were not on board and ran away. Children can run quite far on a beach. I burned myself while trying to BBQ prawns, and Iris broke her shovel. We did not repeat the experiment, but there are many summers ahead and many nearby beaches to explore.

And so I will leave you here with a photo from the last day of school in June, and the first day back in September. The time in between I had little opportunity to draw a breath, let alone a word-picture describing our life. It is enough that we saw, explored, and experienced more of this vibrant and vibrating city and kept our growing glowing brains alight. Jamie is now in Moyenne Section (bilingual), and Iris has a new nanny 2-days a week - so you may be hearing more from me.

On s'amuse bien: Seoul Amusement Parks for the shorter set

Apparently almost-four-year-olds love amusement parks. All Spring I was trying to get Jamie to do things: eat vegetables, go to bed, drink milk, walk up and down the hill without complaining, by telling him that he had to grow 100 cm in order to go to Lotte World. Come Summer - guess what? My newly taller boy was keen to discover the joys of big-boy rides at Seoul's favorite indoor amusement park. Turns out, for most rides, you have to be 110 cm - but still Jamie and his school friends enjoyed train-riding, and frog-hopping, and merry-go-rounding. Jamie was also keen on the magic donkey who, upon insertion of coin, would poo out a jelly candy. Lotte World's chief advantage is that there is an indoor section - and since this was the summer of intense heat and lots of torrential rain, that is a bonus. It is, however, fairly expensive (even with Seoul Grand Sale discount), especially since we could only go on rides for the 100cm and below set. It is far away, lines are long after noon, and Jamie is a little bit afraid of costumed characters - even if they play tubas. He is similarly none-too-fond of Korean puppet shows involving wolves eating a family of furry lambs or 4-D dino movies involving biting teeth. Also they don't stamp your hand or give you a ride bracelet so you have to keep digging out your ticket - which is near-impossible for frazzled and forgetful moms. None-the-less, a small taste of Lotte fun, and the boy had the amusement bug: "I want to go to a place with rides for kids that we haven't gone too before..."

We tried the more economical option of the amusement zone of Children's Grand Adventure Park. Here you pay as you go, and Jamie was happy to have coin after coin inserted in the various cars, planes, Santa sleds, and dwarf-driven-gondolas that were available for "kids to ride by themselves," rather than go on the more expensive amusement rides. Iris could also ride these, teaching her to say "ride ride ride" instead of her customary "walk walk walk." I ran out of coins sooner that Jamie ran out of desire, and I had to drag him away shouting "but I want this to be my house - I want to live here forever." The amusement park, to the adult eye, is pretty old and run-down, and we actually had to track the ride-operators down in order to have the rides run for us. There is not readily available food service, and the hideous beating sun nearly did me in - but luckily the rest of the Children's Grand Park includes a shade-covered stream where Jamie and his school friends usually enjoy splashing about.

Seoul Grand Park was the winner this Summer. We went on a very rainy day when lovely Isabel was visiting. The rain meant that the park was pretty much our own. There were no lines, and ride-operators who would not only open the rides just for us, but would mop off the very wet seats before we sat in them. (Yet they still gave their instructions in Korean via the microphone). Rides were run according to my children's desires. Iris signed "all done" and "down" while on the tree-hopper. The ride was stopped, she got off, and Jamie was allowed to ride 2 more times. Jamie got to try all of the covered vehicles on the truck race, some with Iris, some without, and only had to get off because Mommy and Izzy were soaked and hungry. As the only kid on the bumper cars, Jamie had his own personal chauffeur in the ride-operator. Apparently it is hard to remember to push the gas pedal all the time when you have finally achieved your ultimate desire of a "car to drive by myself that really goes." Both children were followed by the merry-go-round operator, who shouted at them "I love you I love you" and gave them lollipops. Strange for the grown-ups, but pretty standard for my young royals. There were many more rides for the 80 cm(Iris) to 100cm(Jamie) set than at Lotte World, including 3 kiddie roller coasters (one out-of-service). Although Jamie enjoyed the Santa reindeer coaster (they sure love Santa here), he screamed in terror all through the "Crazy Mouse." (though he later claimed that was a different boy who was crying.) His favorite game is now: "crazy-upside down-roller-coaster-that-only Daddy-can-ride," and he is champing to return to Seoul Land. Visa discount made it fairly inexpensive, wrist-bands made riding a breeze, and it is too big to see all of if you are small. Food service is less varied than Lotte but better than CGP; rain gear is available; and ride-operators are flexible. It is difficult to get to via taxi or subway, but there is ample parking if you drive. I'm not sure Seoul Land is a favorite for grown-ups (Everland, still to be visited, is the most praised), and some of the rides, like the "fun house," were not at all fun, and sort of smelled like a rabbit cage. However, for the soon-to-be-four-year-old and his tiny sister, both currently enchanted by all forms of motorized transit, it was the bees knees.

Seoul Notes

Now that May is coming to a close, I should tidy up a few of these unfinished posts. I always feel so optimistic when I settle down to write one, but inevitably a baby cries; it's time for school pick-up; the children clinging to my legs have started pulling each other's hair or I get distracted by thoughts of laundry or lunch or work emails or a doorbell rings and I simply wander off. And so, in no particular order, and with no particular motif, refrain, or theme, here is some more of Seoul and its environs:

Children's day (May 5th) was a National Holiday here in Seoul (except for the children at the French school - but it was a Wednesday 1/2 day). We were warned that all parks, museums and amusement parks would be crowded beyond enjoyment - so we headed to the National Cemetery for a picnic - as you do. Although we weren't the only ones with this idea, it was a pleasant open-space with a river, tombs, statues, steps, and flowers.
Nami Island was recommended to us for a day-trip, so one Sunday we did the hour-long drive to this "pedestrian" Island. We took a boat to the Island, and then explored via toy train and family bicycle (other options included tandem bikes, toy motor cars, personal golf-carts, electric scooters, and sky-bikes on tracks through the tree tops. It was very crowded and vehicle-ridden for a car-free place, but we had a nice time. The Island was used to film parts of the Korean mini-series Winter Sonata, which I watched before leaving Canada, so I was happy to see the celebrated locations. There are many artists selling their wares (the most prominent created small clay figures of peeing boys and nursing women), and to highlight the artistic nature of the island, they disguised their public washrooms as "toilart studios." There were folksy warning signs about the killer mosquitoes (no mosquitoes in Korea - hah!), live concerts and comedians, and pretty scenic views of the waterway, and strange little cottages you could rent if you wished to stay over on this crowded lively retreat. On the way home we were stuck in traffic as usual, but we were diverted by the hawkers selling snacks, fruit and sundries right in the middle of the 8-lane expressway. Personal safety is not paramount in this city.
On Buddha's Birthday (8th day of 4th lunar month, another National Holiday), we took advantage of VIP seating for the lantern parade. The lanterns were lovely, and the giant illuminated paper creations quite astonishing (Jamie particularly enjoyed the young Monk riding Thomas the Tank Engine, and Pororo hugging a baby Buddha). Temple congregations work all year to create their own hand-held and float lanterns and come out in vast numbers (it's all about quantity) to show their stuff. Many lucky parade-viewers were given lanterns, but by the time I know I should be shouting for one, my babies had had it and we headed home. It was a very very long parade. Before the show there was a Buddhist street fair, and we were illuminated further by the many English-language signs advertising booths devoted to such things as "Stamp! Realize! Love!," "Good day, Good people, and sharing clothes!," and "Imagination the Buddha." We were the only foreigners who didn't make a lotus lantern, or queue to have old men write us out a family precept, but we watched them bathe a statue, we made a fish lantern and stamped our way to love, or at least a bandana for Jamie.

A while back my supper club went to a high-end Noraebang for Korean karaoke. Your group is given a private room with microphones, instruments, a playbook, a video screen, a plate of fried food, many beers and a bottle of whiskey (for beer bombs - but this is a family blog). If you happen to be a group of tone-deaf foreign women with inside connections to the music scene (?) you are also given four young Korean men who will sing to you and pour your drinks and dance (??). They will also, it seems, perform a magic show complete with live bunnies (the furry sort) who will hop around your table and let you cuddle them. Apparently a uniquely Korean experience; and as we were there for 4 hours and left nary a drop of whiskey or with any remaining vocal chord - I guess we experienced it "to the full," but enough of that.

Look, here are some beautiful Spring flowers.

This is the police presence mustering in preparation for a protest. Guess who was protesting? Handicapped children. I tried to capture the scene where the police had downed a young woman in a wheelchair - but you will just have to imagine it. Apparently every week the few remaining "Comfort women" (victims of Japanese soldiers during the occupation) come out to protest and demand an apology from Japan and many Japanese tourists run up to apologize to them individually, but I haven't seen this myself. I have seen many student marchers, and more mustered police - but so far everything remains orderly.

Ah Korea, how I love that you mob my children wherever they appear; that you provide for them playrooms filled with large teddy bears to jump upon; that your stations have child gates, your potties have baby seats, and your department stores nursing rooms. How I love that you use English without really understanding it; that you name your English schools things like "Toss English" or "Prestirium Language Institute"; that it's okay to name your tandem bikes "Lespo"; that your beach signs warn against "regretful things" that will make your family and friends "feel sad by acceidental mistakes,"and your "underground cave experiences" need to have a no high-heel policy. How I love your enthusiasm for participation which leads to mobs of old ladies sharing a three-person train seat, tourists joyfully indulging in pre-programed "experiences" to the delight of gathered crowds (here, underneath the bikes for lesbians, an ajumma does some top spinning), and also makes you think that one motorbike store is good, but 150 motorbike stores are better, and causes you to believe that the best business to open on my street with 17 coffee shops is another coffee shop. So there are my notes; some sour, some sweet, and life tinkles along until we meet again. Good night and a "Mobile Flash Butt Welding Machine" to you all.

Korea tourism: Gyeongju and Jeju

Visiting temples and palaces is a good way to remind ourselves that we are indeed in a country with a history and culture different from our own. Although I have been doing some reading about designs and building techniques - the history of the place still remains largely unknown to me. I read one book about the contribution of Korean women to "traditional arts and humanities," where I learned that their ability to participate was rare enough that most of the accomplishments during the Chosun period came from high-status prostitutes, known as "flowers who understand words," or the few Dowager Queens fierce enough to contest their male councilors (thoough these ones tended to be poisoned or torn apart as far as I can make out). Largely, however, English-language histories of Korea (apart from the Korean war) are rare, and April touring with Brian's visiting parents only underlined how little we actually know about this country that is our new home. With that caveat (also pleading poor memory and a baby who has had a month-long war with the laptop) - here is a quick run-through of our two-week April adventure.

Ah Seoul, there are always new things to discover. With the parents I finally visited the "hidden garden" (Biwon) of Changdeokgung Palace (free-roaming Thursdays - now suspended it seems). This was much bigger than I expected, more on the scale of Central Park, and there were many nice stone-work chimneys and pavilions for poetic princes to ponder for posterity. We returned to Bukchon to see the Hanok homes, and found the very small, but beautiful, maedup museum; some of us dressed in Hanbok at Namsangol Hanok village (one of our Seoul City Tour Bus stops); we saw the lights of Seoul Tower at night and did various boating activities around Yeouido during the day. It was nice to do tourist Seoul again, visiting markets and palaces and museums that we hadn't seen in a while, and I found a street that sold nothing but motorcycles and motorcycle paraphernalia and one that sold nothing but Buddhist monk outfits (summer and winter selections with accessories) - if there is one thing Seoul excels at, it is quantity. After a week of Seoul, seeing if not searching, we headed out of town to see a little more of the country.

We took the fast train (and then the medium train reminds my precise son) to "beautiful Gyeongju" (meaning "congratulatory district" - so catchy these place names). Our taxi-driver who took us to the station hailed from Gyeongju and asked what we were interested in seeing there. Revealing my above-noted ignorance I suggested that it was very old and there were many historical parts. But indeed, the place was chock full of Royal tombs (the grassy hills in the photos above - there are 35 tombs and 155 tumuli in the city, and 455 in the outskirts), ancient observatories, 31 national treasures, a lovely Temple and many stone Buddha statues that always make me feel very calm. We enjoyed the exposure to Shilla Kingdom, and exploring tombs in the rain. I learned very little about its history though, as English signs were confined to telling us things like: "caution of stairs" and providing informational tidbits like: "among the military stone figures, a Western figure is attractive." (That's him in the middle - he is a looker isn't he? It's his bulbous nose, bulgy eyes and giant ears that give him away I guess). Monday was museum closing day so we missed the 16,333 artifacts extracted from the tombs, and the hotel charged us to use the pool - but otherwise we enjoyed seeing this part of Korea.

Then it was off to Jeju island, the "Hawaii of Korea" and, at only 75 minutes from Seoul, the top beach resort destination for city-mini-breakers. Luckily we were off-season, so the beach wasn't mobbed. It was pretty cold though. Kids love beaches, but we only had 3 days - so instead of running and playing at the waterfront, they got to climb mountains, scale volcanoes, descend deep dark dank caves and spend long hours driving in cars past scenic oceans views. They are very good kids, and so accommodating.

It was very nice to see the natural features of Jeju - such a welcome break from crowded built-up Seoul. Jeju does a very thorough job of promoting itself and icons of the island include the grandfather statues which litter the Island (most are replicas, some conceal telephone booths or trash cans) as well as representations (mostly statues, some cartoon mascots) of women divers. The romance of the women divers, who scour the ocean for saleable sealife diving with only a mask and their tremendous lung capacity, is hard to resist even once you know that the women who have been doing this for centuries were the poorest members of society forced to preform this hard labour from early childhood until late old age. Today the few remaining women divers are almost all over 40 and you can see them (now wearing wetsuits) walking along the highway carrying their sacks of shells and seaweed, or huddled in groups around fires on the shore.

Here is a lovely photo-montage from Hallim park. There were gardens, caves, lava tubes, bonsai gardens, rock gardens (the feature mid-left is called "Lovers Rock" just one of the many Jeju attractions designed to inspire honeymooners), a historic village and an aviary. We ate prickly-pear cookies and hid from the rain with a python; what more could you ask for in a tourist attraction?

Here we are at Cheonjeyon waterfall (three-tired and much climbing). We enjoyed the various depictions of musical nymphs who descend nightly to bathe in the ponds, and Jamie thought he saw his new friend, the dragon Lava-Badda, hiding behind one of the waterfalls.

Oh - here we are doing more exploring: Mt. Halla (namesake of the Hallabong tangerines that we ate voraciously); the very steep trek to volcanic crater Songsan Ilchubong, birthplace of Lava-Badda; the lava-tubes of Manjang; and a dragon-head rock formation that Jeju City lights up at night for tourist delectation. Generally between the fields and the sea, things were a bit more relaxed than at home - but Jamie trudging up the crater under his own steam caused the usual sensation and crowd-pleasing. Teenaged boys chanted little encouraging songs for him; young girls mobbed him for photo-ops; and ex-military men tried to put him on their backs to ascend the heights. We made it up to the crater alive, but the crowds convinced me that I would stick to off-season for return visits to this fascinating island.