Maewha Flower Festival...minus the flowers!

After a few weeks of Daegu confinement, I was more than ready to get out for a weekend. So a few friends and I joined a trip exploring the area of Maisan, particularly to see the Maewha Flower Festival. Many things were set against the trip, rainy weather forecast and a distinct lack of flowers due to the weather this year, but we had fun and it was lovely as always to see somewhere new and get a bit of fresh air in the country. I also got a chance to try out my new DSLR which is a trickier business than I expected. Time to download the English manual from the Nikon website...the korean one is no good for me! Here are my first few attempts...

One of the peaks at Maisan...not sure if this is the female or male peak! we didn't see much because of the mist! 

At Tap-sa we happened upon a buddhist ceremony which was noisy but beautiful. 

Tap-sa (Pagoda temple)

Steam train!

travel buds 

Our pension up on the hill in the background. A pretty impressive location...especially in the mist

Maewha village

Ajumas selling flower wine and something which nearly choked me...
it was hard to pretend it was masisseosseoyo (delicious)

Some Maewha flowers...the whole village will soon be covered in flowers but unfortunately not until the following week. It was still nice to see some signs of springtime after a long long winter!

winter vacation explorations

As a bonus for resigning for a second year in the ROK, EPIK teachers are given an extra 2 weeks vacation which makes 4 weeks in total. I was torn between going on an amazing adventure or going to see my family and friends. I'm not very good at compromise so I tried to have everything and went home for nearly 3 weeks then went on a mini adventure to the Philippines!

Home was a whirlwind of visiting people and getting my fix of the things I love in England. I ended up not seeing enough of people which is understandable in less than 3 weeks but it was still tough. I went to Leeds, London and Bath; spent loads of time with my Nanna; had a crazy reunion night at a place called 'Crazy Wendys' with all the girls; visited the school I used to work in, spent time with Emma and her huge bump and just went to normal places with my parents. I also visited my sister in Madrid which was lovely and beautiful. I fed on the architecture to sustain me for another year surrounded by the concrete and neon-ness of Korea. I really love Europe!

It was very hard to leave but thankfully my little adventure to the Philippines cushioned the blow and reminded me of the travel adventures to come over the following 18 months! After a 40 hour journey from Manchester to Seoul to Daegu to Cebu to Malapascua Island, I eventually landed in a little piece of paradise! The island was lovely and reasonably untouched...a real find in South East Asia! Unfortunately there was no ATM and I didn't take much money therefore had to leave after 2 nights so I spent my last few nights in Bohol which was good but a tad too touristy and busy for me. Would love to go back to the Philippines though. Much more to explore! Now time for year 2...