We could do our own thing today so Benjamin, Stephen, Juni, Rachael, Michelle, and I went to 63 빌딩/63 Building, a huge building that technically has more than 63 levels! A lot of people have dinner at the top and get proposed there which totally makes sense when you see it. We didn't want to pay money to go to the top because you had to attend another event that was happening inside which we didn't want to do. Good thing we didn't because it's cool at first but not worth how much they ask from you. Good thing I went when I was young. As we were walking to go to the building, we saw this random grandma sleeping in the park nearby. And what does Julianne do? Take a picture with her stalker camera. :-)
As we were walking, we thought, "What is that?" As we looked closer, this grandma was sleeping! In the middle of the park!
63 빌딩/63 Building
Inside
After looking inside, we saw these duck boats on the river and thought it would be fun to take a boat ride on the river. Michelle. Juni, and Rachael were in one and Stephen, Benjamin, and I were in the other. We tried to B-line and hit each other and at times were successful. We got some lunch nearby which took forever. Not that it was busy but they forgot about us. Michelle and I ordered the same thing but it never came until we asked them an hour later. They finally served our meals and then gave us some free 만두 dumplings. But man, never in my life have I been to a restaurant where they just forget about you when it's not that busy. We wanted to check out the 4D Theater at the 이순신 박물관 Yi Sun Sin museum. A 4D Theater is just like "Honey! We Shrunk the Audience" at Disneyland/ Disney World. It was pretty cool and we now get to say that we went to a 4D Theater. We went to 인사동 Insadong and 명동 Myeong Dong for shopping and to look around because we're all leaving each other soon! We can't believe it. We have loved spending time with each other here and have learned so much. We've been with each other for so long that it'll be weird not seeing each other for weeks.
Today was full packed with learning and fun experiences. Our first stop was 창덕궁 Changdeokgoong which is another palace in Korea. It's very similar to 경복궁 Gyeongbokgoong. This one however, has the secret gardens where the kings would take a stroll. We wanted to check it out because it looked beautiful but decided not to because it added more to the cost. It was very similar to the other palaces but it was nice this time because we weren't hurryingly trying to take notes but just enjoy what was around us.
Part of 창덕궁 Changdeokgoong
This was the queen's bed. Since most stuff burned down, anything that was preserved, they tried to leave it how it was. The bed was so elaborate!
Looking door into the secret gardens
We got some lunch at a nearby restaurant. That's the nice thing about Korea is that you don't have to go far to find a good restaurant. We got some Chinese food which I wasn't thrilled but it was still good. I got some 자짱면 jajjangmyeon which are noodles with black sauce. That is not a good date food; it gets everywhere! The lady noticed that I got a bit on my shirt and so she gave me an apron. Haha how thoughtful.
We wanted to check out those museums of 세종대왕 King Sejong and 이순신 Yi Sun Sin in 광화문 Gwanghwamun Square and boy I'm glad we did. Those museums rocked! They were so much fun. I just loved and was fascinated by everything. Everything was so cool to look at. They showcased 세종대왕 Sejong the Great's inventions (which were a lot), showed videos and movies you could watch about his life including the drama, and provided biographies about him and literally, everything that they could research about him was here. 이순신 Yi Sun Sin's was really cool because it showed where he fought his battles and about the tactics that were used during war. This guy was INCREDIBLE; pure genius. They had lots of interactive games for his part of the museum which was neat.
한글 hangeul/Korean alphabet
I love this statement
His real name is 이도 Lee Do (ee-doh) but his posthumous name is 세종대왕 Sejong the Great.
They made a bench with the alphabet!
This bench actually says 한글 in it!
Setup of one of 이순신 Yi Sun Sin's battles where they won surprisingly. Pure genius.
I love this statement too.
Practicing writing 한글 using the rice paper and ink brushes.
함주은 is my Korean name
After the museums, we went to 인제대학원 Inje Graduate School where we met up with Professor Peterson, 박 교수님 Professor Park, and people that were part of this 시조 poetry/sijo association. 시조 sijo is Korean poetry. It's starting to replace the easy and typical haiku. Not only is it poetry but they sing with it and use a very old sounding voice. It feels like you've gone back centuries. It was so neat. They showed us some instruments they use for 시조 sijo and let us attempt to play them. That's why I never was in the band. I just can't blow instruments; something must be wrong with my lungs. After they gave us a presentation and demonstration on 시조 sijo, they took us to dinner at Ashley's Grill & Salad buffet which was amazing. Even the inside was beautiful. It smelled like only those who have money come here. I ate so well and had great food.
How pretty with the great view, mahogany tables, pictures, and chandeliers!
I'm dying just looking at this.
The dessert was really good that I forgot to take a picture befor I ate it. :-p
Now we had some free time and Michelle found this cool store called SPAO in 명동 Myeong Dong which is a store owned by the entertainment industry SM Entertainment. It was like a dream come true for me, Victoria, and Michelle. We just had fun looking inside. It had a couple floors. A couple were clothing lines and one was a fan store. They had photos you could purchase, CD albums, 노래방 karaoke rooms, and the best part, a PHOTO BOOTH!!!!!!! Shut the front door; I'm so pumped! We did one as a group but it didn't turn out that well and so I did one by myself because I wanted to do it anyways. It's great; they photoshop the celebrities in with you. Not only was it hilarious but really fun too; trying to decorate everything and selecting the pictures. I'll try to upload the photos that I took in the photo booth because they're HI-LA-RIOUS!!! Everyone thought it was funny.
Inside Every Sing which was part of the store. This is where you can buy fan merchandise.
We first visited 정친희 Jungchinghui which was a lineage office. At the lineage office, they keep all of this records and Korea is huge into family history.
Vitamin C drink brought to you by none other than 소녀시대 Girl's Generation.
Yesterday at church, we met Sarah Oh, Emily and Ezra Han who went on the study abroad 2 years ago. Sarah is working here in Korea and Emily and Ezra came for fun. They invited us yesterday to go to Caribbean Bay with them which is Korea's biggest water parks. Michelle, Joy, and I went but Kentoria did their own thing and Junil, Rachael, Benjamin, and Stephen didn't want to wear a swim cap so they went and helped Rachael get a hair cut and watched a movie. It's a shame because they totally missed out. Caribbean Bay is a PAR-TAY!! Super fun. One of the best water parks I've been to yet.
We took the subway to meet Sarah, Emily, and Ezra at the 강남 Kangnam bus stop. There, we took a bus ride to 용인 Yongin where it's located. It's right next to Everland Resort, which is Korea's larget theme park. Looks a lot like Disneyland. It was annoying on the bus because it was quiet and so I took a nap on there. All of a sudden, a couple Americans got on and were being obnoxious. Obnoxious in the sense that they were being loud. They woke me because they were really loud. If you know me, you know that I can sleep through anything. So the fact that they woke me up, they were obnoxious. When we got to Caribbean Bay, we were relieved because we were off the bus and not by them.
Everland Resort looks so much like Disneyland. Wish we could've gone but don't think we'll be able to go since we don't have much time here left. I would be able to but no one else would. I heard that most people in Korea like Everland if you want to go to an amusement park in Korea. Caribbean Bay looked so much and oh boy was it!!!
Everland Resort
Caribbean Bay
Sarah Oh, Joy, Michelle, me, and Emily Han
So I mentioned the swim cap thing earlier right? Ok, lame and total waste of money. For a long time, whenever you go swimming in Korea, they require that you cover your hair with a swim cap or a hat. Haha now you know why when you see lots of Asians wearing hats and swim caps. I think part of the reason why many Asians will wear hats is that they put TONS and TONS of chlorine, more than some places, in their pools and water parks. Dr. Peterson told us that one time when he went swimming without a swim cap, the chlorine was so strong that it was impossible to comb through his hair. And he's a guy!! When I went to Korea when I was little, I had to wear a swim cap as well. I never understood why because we don't in America unless you're on a professional swimming team, sechronized swimming, or old doing water aerobics. Otherwise, people think you're weird. So we were told that we needed to get/have one. We bought them, which they're more money than you think ($13-$20; yeah ridiculous) only to find out that NO ONE was wearing them. They must not care for some things because we saw LOTS without them or just wearing baseball hats. So we didn't wear them except when we went on the lazy river because that's where the lifeguards cared.
Haha no joke. The locker rooms and bathrooms were nice here. Not nasty when you go swimming at most places. They had Botticelli's paintings as murals in here for crying out loud!! As I walked in, I said, "Hey! That's The Birth of Venus!" Inside the locker room are free lockers, cosmetics with q-tips and moisturizers (which weren't bad like the ones at hotels haha), and plenty of mirrors and hair dryers. The makeup surprised me because since when do they offer complimentary cosmetics at water parks? What do we have to do to get up to this standard? We found out they have cosmetics in the guys' locker room as well. Seriously???
It was really cool when we got there because they were filming a television program when we got out. Many celebrities have come here for commercials and for fun. They had a huge poster for the television program and it looked like a celebrity variety show. We recognized every famous person on there. However, we didn't see them in person there. :-(
This is probably the best video that shows most of Caribbean Bay. I haven't found one that does a good job of showing what's there. They used 2PM and Girls' Generation to advertise Caribbean Bay. They made it into a dramatic music video. At 1:12, we went under that huge pirate bucket and got splashed. At 2:56, that's a form of Korean punishment haha lol. At 3:01-3:14 that orange slide/ramp was my favorite!!!! You go so high up and come down fast. At 3:15-3:18 are the slides which are really fun too. At 3:18, you can see a great view of Caribbean Bay. I apologize for the cheesy dramatic story line haha.
This is the ride that we tried to go on but they wouldn't let us because of our swimsuits. Super lame! Sarah, Emily, Ezra, and I went to stand in line and then the lifeguard said we couldn't ride the slides. They said that our swimsuits would fly off because our swimsuits were detached from each other. Sarah, Emily, and I have swimsuits that are two pieces that make up a whole swimsuit and they saw that as something that would fly off. Well, how on earth do girls with bikinis go through?? That has a higher chance of falling off! :-( So mad. Sarah said, "Fine, maybe we should go naked next time. Then you'll know nothing will fall off!"
I can't stop talking about Caribbean Bay! It was so so so so so so so much fun! They have two water parks inside. They have the outdoor one which they showcase and an indoor one if people want to attend during the winter, don't want to go outside, or don't want to get tan. You know how Asians are with getting sun. The indoor water park was nice; it had water slides and even spas and salons! We only stayed for a little bit because duh! It's summer and we should be out in the sun where it's warm!
The first ride we went on was the orange ramp water slide that you see in the first video at 3:01-3:14. I think I was the only one that had the courage and really wanted to go on the slide. Everyone, and yes, everyone was really intimidated by how high and how fast it goes. Even the people waiting in line were nervous. You could tell but you could also tell they wanted to try it. Haha and for the longest time I thought that everyone loved fast rides, rides that are at the amusement parks because they're fun and all the cool kids like them and that I'm just a scaredy cat for jumping on the train late. Wow, more people than I thought don't find a ton of enjoyment in them but fear. Another weird thing. EVERYONE was wearing a life jacket. Yeah, for shallow water. Not a lot of Koreans know how to swim. No lie, it's funny to see someone older than you wear a life jacket. It's that funny.
The orange ramp was epic! So much fun!! It took our tube up this conveyor belt like the Colossas at Lagoon before you drop and then it dropped us and then we went back up onto the ramp and back down. So, if you go to Caribbean Bay, this ride is a lot of fun. Sarah is lots of fun and very outgoing. She's very funny and has a personality of someone who says, "I'm not gonna take your crap!" Emily is very sweet and bright. Ezra is chill, funny, and up for anything. It was lots of fun hanging out with them today. It was a nice change from the usual group we hang out with.
Michelle, Joy, and Me
Epic water slides
Emily, Ezra Han, and Sarah
On the way to the epic water slides!
Gnarly!!! This is the ramp that you see in the first video at 3:01-3:14
Can we do this???
Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! The orange ramp water slide was my favorite ride at Caribbean Bay!
Surviving the ramp!
The whole gang survived as well as my makeup. My makeup stayed on really well the whole time we were here.
More water slides
After the water slides, we went on the body slides which were lots of fun too because they went really fast and it was dark inside. We would race each other. In the end, Ezra and I raced each other the most because everyone else was a bit scared to go on some of them. But I love thrills like this so I was living it up! Many of the slides reminded me of what I saw in the Bahamas commercials. I went on one body slide that shot me out really fast that my swimsuit bottom came off!! Super embarassing....The lifeguard instructed me to get off the slide but my swimsuit bottom was off still and I didn't want to get up and expose my butt to all of Korea. So what I had to do is slide/skid on my bottom to get my swimsuit bottom back on. The lifeguard probably thought I was weird after instructing me to get off the slide that I get sliding to the end of the slide to get out or he thought I had too much fun on the slide and wanted to continue the experience until the very end. Hahaha :-)
We went to this spa pool they had which was sweet!! They had jets inside and massagers inside the hot tubs as well as some of the swimming pools. You sit in this chair and it massages you while you relax in the pool. We didn't want to leave it. Haha how cool is that? We went on the lazy river next which was cool excpe that we HAD to wear the swim caps which was weird because no where else were we required to wear one. We looked so weird and it was more weird for us because as Americans, we just don't wear them. It's not that common. We went on it a couple times and then got some lunch. I had the best cheeseburger. EVER! It's also because I went swimming and so many things taste super good after that but really, it was so good. Joy and Michelle got shrimp burgers, never hear of that, which they said were really good.
Lazy river where we HAD to wear swim caps.
Wow, we're so attractive with our swim caps.
Me, Ezra, and Joy
My boyfriend lol ;-)
After the lazy river, we went on a couple more body slides and water slides which I have another great story about. I was coming out from a water slide and everyone (our group) was waiting for me at the bottom. I couldn't hear very well as I got out just because water gets in your ears and you just had a rush. As I look towards everyone, everyone was waving their hands at me and looked worried. They kept yelling at me but I didn't know what they were trying to tell me. Then all of a sudden they stop and their eyes and mouths are wide. I look next to them and there's a boy looking sick and his dad concerned. I look down and I realized I stepped in his throw up when I got to the steps from the pool. NASTY! If you want to know why I'll never have tuna again, you'll know why. Luckily they had showers next to the ride and so I rinsed off the throw up and cleaned my foot with soap 3 times. Honestly, I felt worse for the kid than myself. He wasn't very old and so he must've felt not only sick and miserable but embarassed too. When I stepped in it, I didn't freak out and feel remorse against him but rather I felt sorry and wanted to know if he was okay. Seriously, ask anyone. Haha okay this next part might sound weird but it wasn't super bad what I stepped in. It was pretty much clear so my foot wasn't a rainbow of colors and I cleaned it well that it didn't smell. The faculty came immediately and cleaned up the mess.
This is the huge pirate bucket that dumps water on you if you saw it in the first video at 1:12. Haha isn't this a cool photo?
Soaked
It was starting to close but we wanted to go on more rides. They had this huge pirate bucket that would dump water of anyone below and light up when it was ready. We got SOAKED! It was EPICALLY AWESOME!!! If that's even a word. We went to go change in the locker rooms which are very different than America. I already knew it was the way it is but those who've never been to Korea might think this is uncomfortable. Everyone changes in front of everyone and they're cool with it. Not like girl's locker rooms where you're still covered. Literally, everyone just strips down and it's totally normal. They're not checking each other out, just minding their own business. They walk around naked too as nothing. So very different compared to America. Usually I don't care but I still did the American thing which is to hide and cover up. Another thing that was different, they actually get ready for the day after they go swimming. Usually people after they swim, just change and go home but don't get ready there because they can get ready in the comforts of their own home without having to wait in a line. Here, everyone gets ready. They bring a new set of clothes, hair and makeup products, etc. After we left, we all got back on the bus and everyone looked like they never went swimming because they got ready. Haha we on the other hand didn't because that's not something we do usually.
It was quite a ride back but we didn't stop talking about Caribbean Bay when we got home. We had so many stories and things to laugh at. It looked like everyone else had a good day but I think we had the most fun. Honestly, water park vs. whatever. WATER PARK!! DUH!!
