One Day Wonders

Cave Dwelling
We were surprised by the suggestion of a mini field trip. Places and events were spoken in Korean, but knowing I would be leaving my small town was enough to leave me satisfied with any destination decision. The two Korean teachers and three native speakers piled into a vehicle, elated that planning tomorrows lesson would be postponed.

Half an hour later, we were dropped off in drizzle and waiting for the train.

A short ride up revealed a soggy cave entrance, gaping and ready to eat us. After donning our sporty hard hats, the five ladies descended into dingy, creepy darkness.




Sunflower Festival
Following an hour of very intense cave trekking, we were promptly swept away to another corner of Taebek. This time, the Annual Sunflower Festival.

The small walk in was graced with large patches of flowers. Lilys, Black Eyed Susans, Wildflowers. The farther in we walked, the more impressive these displays became. Soon, we stood before an expansive field of strawberries that demanded of us to eat them. So, not wanting to disappoint, we foraged. We picked the freshest, sweetest, reddest berries and without even rubbing them off on our shirts, we plopped them in our mouths. It was heaven, encapsulated in a fruit.

Further along, the beginnings of the only timezone exclusively populated by sunflowers appeared. Or, barely appeared as our mortal minds could not comprehend the immensity of a thousand, a million, a billion sunflowers growing and maturing and reproducing within one and an half eye views. Pictures, videos, verbal descriptions could not do this field of sunflowers justice.

The owner of the festival met us at the gate, wished us goodbye and we were off to the only Casino hotel in South Korea.

The Only Casino Hotel in South Korea
From fields of green and skies of blue came neon buildings and starless skies of the only casino hotel in South Korea.

Our intention was not to gamble, although our hearts secretly craved the chance to double our meager salary. We slid instead into a large theatre to witness "Mystery on Stage." The act was indeed a mystery, opening with oriental balancing acts followed by sparsely clad girls shaking booty to foreign tunes. Strangely, all was entertaining.



Following the performance, we wandered away to the heart of the property: Lumiarie