South Korea Vacation: Kim Chi-Making, Hanboks, and Strawberries (Day 3, Part 1)

Day 3 of our South Korea itinerary was all about bringing out the inner child in us.  The teens and the tweens in our group were anticipating this part of the tour since the first day we set foot in the country.  I am not a big fan of theme parks, let alone the rides therein that seemed to have been made and meant to test how fast you can control that sphincter in your body which is closely associated with the 7th planet of the solar system (if you know what I mean).  But since I can’t dissuade them from flirting with cardiac arrest, not to mention that we’ve already paid for it, I squeezed out every ounce of enthusiasm that I have for scary rides.

Scary Ride at Everland

Of course, there was that calm before the storm.  The first order of the day was a visit at a strawberry farm.  Clouds were hovering around the city since the sun woke up.  Of course, that meant that the 15 degree Celsius forecast for the day missed its mark by about 6-7 degrees.  It was freezing!

Before we went to the tents where the strawberries were to be picked, we were first lead to a place where Kim Chi was being made.  The kitchen lesson was interesting, although I’m not quite sure if I got the mixture right since I was juggling between pressing the shutter and putting spicy sauce on a cabbage (or was it lettuce?).

Kim Chi-making

After a futile attempt at a career in the kitchen, we were then taken to a small Korean hut where a good number of Hanboks (local traditional costumes) were available for photo-op purposes.  Being a fan of Korean TV series featuring the days of old in this part of North Asia, my mom immediately grabbed the opportunity of trying every costume that she could get her hands on.  The same interest was exhibited by almost all of the women in the group.  As expected, the men were relegated to the menial task of taking their pictures.

Hanboks

Ms. Julia then whisked us to long white tents where the strawberries were to be picked.  We were only allowed to pick 5, but it seems that many were arithmetically-challenged that day.  I caught some doing some multiplication instead of simple addition in arriving at the prescribed number :)

Korean Strawberry Farm

Lunch came just in time as my tummy was already screaming persecution.  The food was, as always, sumptuous.  I told Gin before I left Manila that I will probably be losing a few pounds because of the endless walking that we would most likely be doing in Korea.  But I was dead wrong.  Judging by the effort that I was exerting every morning in buttoning my pants, I lost nothing and gained something!

Bulgogi lunch. Unlimited meat!

 And now for the main event -- Everland and Lotte World!  (Click on article link)