Summer

A few months ago Aeyeon and I checked out an ancient fortress in Suwon, called Hwaseong, built in the 18th century.  

Jeju

For my Summer vacation, Aeyeon and I traveled with her Aunt, Cousin, and her cousin's husband in Jeju.  We went with her cousin's husband's company and a huge tour group of about 120 people, almost all of them with small children.  Needless to say I had my reservations about the trip, especially not being able to make our own plans and schedule. Here are some pictures.

The first stop we hit in Jeju was a circus comprised of Taiwanese performers.  At first I was skeptical about the quality of the show we were about to see, however my attitude changed after watching the first couple acts involving juggling and crazy body contortions.  The motorcycles in the cage were very frustrating to record.  As I tried to take a video after 3 guys rode around, another bike came in, so I had to delete the video and record a new one.  This happened a couple more times, until finally there were 7 bikes in the cage.  Look for the rest of the Jeju photos below.

We stayed in a  group of cabins in the middle of the countryside, and they were quite peaceful.  AJ's cousin's husband and I stayed in our own cabin, with probably enough space for a couple families. 

 The first night was spent getting to know each other.  Being the only foreigner, I became the sideshow attraction and picked to participate in a shouting game, where one person had to turn and shout to the next person, who then turned to another person and shouted or shouted at the same person, until someone messed up.

The next day we traveled around the island sightseeing.  We ended up at a great national park and finally at a clear blue water beach.  We were really lucky to visit at the right time, as a friend of mine was stuck at the airport a few days later when a typhoon hit.  

My friend Colin got married to his fiancee, Su Kyeong at a wedding hall in Incheon.  It was interesting to see the conservative Korean crowd and the rowdy foreigner crowd together at the same time.  The wedding turned a little awkward when Colin had to talk about his future plans in Korean, but definitely made for a good laugh.

 For Chuseok, Aeyeon and I went to Caribbean Bay, the largest indoor and outdoor waterpark in the world.  It is next to Everland amusement park, which is like the Korean equivalent to Disneyland.  Some of the rides were closed, but we got an excellent discount for Chuseok, and the weather was just right.  The slides were pretty fun.  The best was the Aqualoop, in which you stand in a capsule until the floor gives way and you drop straight down and then up and around in a loop.