SUMMER IS HERE

I still have a shit-ton of back dated entries to get to, and only TWO MORE MONTHS in which to do it.



Anyways, summer is here. The cherry blossoms came and went, and in their wake a string of sunny days and temperatures rising past the 20 degree mark have made themselves known. Busan is starting to show the warm colours that were once drowned out by the bleak winter scenery.

This Saturday a bunch of us went to Gyeongju, which is the historic city of Korea, to take part in the traditional alcoholic drinks and rice cakes festival. Some of the drinks were delicious, and others caused my stomach to churn and eyes to water.

A popular thing to do in Gyeongju is to rent bikes to make getting around easier. Jamil, Jordan and I opted for renting scooters, which was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. While the rest of our group biked around like sissies, we took off in search of some of the nicest scenery we could find. We weren't disappointed; we came across winding roads and lush greenery, lakes and rivers reflecting the summer sun, and farms with friendly farmers who allowed us to take photos of the baby goats, dogs, roosters, ducks, etc. I so want to get a scooter when I'm back in Toronto. They're too much fun.

Sunday consisted of beach bums (literally--some Korean man thought it'd be appropriate to strip out of his wet bathing suit and into his somewhat dry clothes four feet away from us) and beer. We were at the most popular beach in all of Korea, but you wouldn't know it with the disproportionate amount of foreigners to Koreans. The beach is officially open in August, and that's when you'll see the thousands of orange and white parasols littering the beach and the Koreans under them. Otherwise you'll only see a handful of Koreans venturing out into the sand, while the others stay on the boardwalk, looking curiously at the foreigners taking advantage of the warm weather.

In other news, I haven't done any planning for post-Korea. I should probably get on that, since my time here will expire before I know it.