Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Muddy Mess



This past weekend we headed out of town with some friends to mudfest, about a four hour drive up the west coast of Korea. can i just take a second here to comment on how fast this summer is going? I feel like i was just making our bucket list, and now we have some of the major events crossed off of it. Except my six pack, that may just stay on there. Back to the story. The city of Boryeong is a tiny little town that is known for the health benefits of their mineral rich mud, why else cover yourself from head to toe in it? Actually, the whole idea of mud fest was created in order to promote their mud cosmetics. Now, in the span of nine days, hundreds of thousands of people travel from around the country to pass through this town and roll around in the mud. We were no exception. While we were there we:

Saw my first boxing match. I've always wanted to see one and there just so happened to be a match for free between Japan and Korea. I've never seen a guy's head bounce like that.
Stood in line for over an hour to get painted up like warriors with colored mud. Definitely worth the wait. You can see the volunteers meticulously painting our bodies for us.


Got put in mud prison.



Scrubbed ourselves clean in the ocean, then realized we were all slightly stained from the colored mud.



Made some amazing fruit infused soju. Soju=not so good. Soju+fruit=a whole other story



Watched some amazing fireworks. I'm typically not a huge fan but these were like nothing I have seen before. Parts of it were literally falling into the water because it was so close.



Saw some outrageously gorgeous mountains in Jinan. We're looking at going back and trying to hike it someday, especially since there is water rafting close to the town and they  have rustic wooden cabins that you can stay in while hiking.



And as a parting souvenir, I got a tube of mud mask that left my skin feeling like a babies bum. Worth every penny.

Please excuse the blurry photos. We were using a waterproof case for our phones, which in my opinion worked great. For being wrapped in plastic, the photos still turned out decent and we didn't have to worry about any mud or water getting in the phone. Over all, I would have to say, this was by far the best Korean festival I have been to. It completely lived up to the hype in every way.



summer bucket list:

.sea kayaking
.fly a kite
.cliff jumping on the south end of the island
.discover a new beach on the island
.picnic
.get a tan (this is a hard one for me)
.mud fest
.beach camping, as much as we can!
.bbq on our roof. we're so excited that our new place has an accessible roof top and it's FINALLY good weather!
.get pictures hung in the apartment. it's time to make this place feel like HOME
.get a six pack. i think i have two, only four more to go!
.grow an herb garden
.sand castle festival. i know we already did this one but i like putting things on a to do list that i've already done. makes me feel like i've accomplished more with no effort.