Well, I am glad I did not toss the black dress I packed for Kay's wedding because I got to use it in yet another wedding, this time... Korean style!

I do not know if there is such a thing as a Korean style wedding but the wedding I attended was a weird mix of Western with some (maybe) Korean aspects.

We got to the wedding hall and it was full of people and big flower arrangements that looked like the coronas we send back home in El Salvador when people pass away!




My friend Bianca had to go see where the bride's room was because it is a tradition that the guests will go say Hi and congratulate the bride before the wedding... And here we are with the bride! haha

After saying Hi we had to go to the ceremony hall, at the entrance there were some pictures of the couple from their wedding photoshoot. Bianca told me that South Koreans would spend a whole lot of money on pictures for the wedding.

We sat at the back of the room and waited for the ceremony to begin.
It all started by the mothers walking in first and seating at opposite sides of the stage.

Then, the groom came in and finally the doors opened and the bride came in. She was welcomed by her fiancee/ almost husband singing (an off-tune) song and walking towards her... kind of cute, kind of too much for me!


When they start walking together down the aisle it was very funny to see the staff light up 2 halves of a heart and then put it together for the couple to walk under it. Once they passed through, they quickly put it on the side and ran towards the front and prompted the guest to start clapping!!! haha It all felt so staged and unnatural to me!


The ceremony lasted probably 15 minutes and then a friend of the couple went on the stage and started singing! This friend was not a singer nor a musician, I'm starting to think that in Korea you show affection by singing. After the painful 3 minutes another friend went up the stage... "oh no! no more singing" was my first thought but gladly friend numero dos only played the piano!

That was pretty much the end of the ceremony and the couple walked down the aisle... mid way down, the two girls who held the heart halves popped some strings (and it felt as if they scared the couple!)


During the whole ceremony people were not paying attention!!! Everybody was talking, coming in, going out, checking their phones, chasing kids, and God knows what else. I was impressed to see that actually no one cared about the wedding! and even Bianca mentioned that most people are there for the food!!! (because all Korean weddings have an all you can eat buffet after the ceremony!)

After the short ceremony it was time for pictures, which took more time than the ceremony itself! And then... food time!!!

After the wedding Bianca and I went to the bus station and were on our way to Sokcho!!!

The busses are so nice and comfy... We lucked out and got a fancy bus!


Once we got to Sokcho we got into a taxi and the ride was... interesting! The taxi driver was screaming at Bianca because of the name of the hostel. I got uncomfortable and didn't understand why the driver was screaming so much! Apparently it was because the hostel is called "THE house hostel" and not "house hostel" like Bianca had said! After the stressful 8 minute ride to the hostel we finally got there and understood Bianca's love for this little gem of a hostel in Sokcho! The owner was very kind and the hostel is very charming and cozy.

We left our bags and quickly went out for dinner.
We stopped at one of the famous restaurants, the Chongbok Haemul Dokbeki, for some abalone seafood pot.



After eating our entire pot... yes! the entire thing and feeling like rolling out of the restaurant we decided to go for a walk ans explore the town.

Little Sokcho is like the Vegas of fishing towns! There were neon letters all over advertising (i'm assuming) seafood restaurants and shops! It was kind of crazy!

While walking around town I was impressed at the high number of people selling fish and at the low number of people actually buying fish and started to wonder how loong those poor fish have been seating in those tanks!




We then walked over the two sokcho bridges and ended in Abai Maeul, a tiny island that hosted North Korean refugees after the Korean war.


To get back to the hostel we took "the ferry" back. This old fashioned ferry had to be pulled by a worker, Bianca, and myself in order to make it to the other side of the water! It was quite an experience!

That night Bianca and I agrees that we wanted to wake up extra early to see the sunrise and the fish market early in the morning! So the next day we were out and about by 6am.

The fish market was very active with fishermen and wholesale reps. I got to see some of the biding like in Tsukiji market, in Tokyo, but in a very small scale.




The sunrise was beautiful




The idea was to wake up at 5:30am, go to the market and go back to the hostel to sleep. Well, the nap didn't happen and after a quick and unhealthy breakfast of toast and frosted flakes (I hadn't had those since I was probably 7 years old!) we hit the road and went straight to Sorak.

The weather was just amazing, clear skies, sunny enough to keep us warm... wasting such a day taking a nap would have been such a bad idea!
We took the cable car up the mountain and then spent some time enjoying the view... and taking some pictures!





Once back down we went to check out the huge Buddha and the Shinheungsa temple.







Before leaving the park we shared some bibimbop and a bottle of makkolli (rice wine)... Cheers!


With our tummies full we then headed to the town of Yang Yang and visited the Naksansa temple... yet another astonishing beautiful temple by the water!!!



Here I am about to walk across the path where dreams come true...


Here's the Goddess of Mercy...




We ended our full day of sightseeing by the beach... taking a nap! zZzZ


Then, sadly, it was time to go back to Seoul and for me to keep on adventuring on my own..

My last night in Seoul I spent it as a guest speaker in Bianca's advanced listening class. I was invited to talk about my travels and my adventures! The whole class was very kind and had some really good questions! I had so much fun telling stories from around the world and sharing a little bit of this journey with them!


I am so grateful for my friend Bianca who took the time to show me how beautiful SK is... Too bad I didn't listen to her when she said I need a whole year to explore SK! On the bright side.. I will be back :)
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