Daecheon Beach

Daecheon Beach was our destination and Mudfest was the aim, the annual 9 day festival celebrating all things 'Mud'. We went, we got muddy, we came back. That was pretty much it. There are barely any photos due to said 'Mud', I did track down one of me and my friend Nicole, I was clean, she was muddy... you can get the idea.

Suwon

Suwon, was one of those things to do in Korea, that I felt i couldn't leave Korea without doing... a fortress used during the Korean war, that required an hours train journey south of Seoul, getting lost in the steaming hot streets of Suwon and finally finding out where all the Ajoshhis of Korea hang out when their Ajumma wives and busy injuring people on transport, drinking Soju on coaches or climbing mountains.... The answer?? They hang out in parks playing board games....

The fortress was just how one imagined it to be, however we did find 'National Treasure No 1'..

Ewha Womens University

According to the guidebooks, Ewha womens university, near both Sincheon and Hongdae is a shopping mecca, having rinsed my bank account in Hongdae that morning I was hoping this fact wasn't quite true but alas it was, luckily one of my few purchases was a mid sized rucksack for my upcoming trip to Vietnam, along with a beautiful but somewhat impractical cotton floral playsuit (I would like to point out I have worn it on a night out and it is in said rucksack waiting to go to Vietnam tomorrow, so not quite as impractical as I thought!) The university itself is the reason for the shops, being a university for women, and women love to shop! We didn't go for a major look around but from what we saw, it looked beautiful, old buildings set in a green spaces, very classic, with a european feeling. After having a wander, and trying to tighten the pursestrings we ended up having cake and coffee in yet another themed cafe, this time the 'Charlie Brown' cafe, decked out with all of the characters from the Peanuts cartoon strip, I was hoping to be able to update my ancient Snoopy pillowcase, but alas the array of merchandise on offer did not extend to bedding.... i will just have to scour ebay instead...

Hello Kitty

July started with a to-do list, being that I leave Korea at the start of September there were certain things I wanted to 'check off' before leaving and many of these things were set for the summer months. One of the first things was the rather silly trip to the 'Hello Kitty' cafe located in Hongdae, Seoul. Hello Kitty, is an asian phenomenon hated by feminists due to her lack of 'mouth' and thus inability to 'speak'.... created by Japanese toymaker Sanrio, the cute little Kitty is just as popular in Korea as with their neighbours. Having spent the past year collecting all manner of werid Hello Kitty memorabillia and consumables, everything from Hello Kitty floss and toothpaste, to earrings. I had somewhat of a yearning to visit the eyecatching cafe.

The company has gone full wack with all things Kitty and indeed all things pink, everything is emblazoned with the logo from the mugs, glasses and sandwich wrappers to the awesome Japanese robot toilet! A sea of pink and fluff, the food and beverages on offer are simple cafe food; smoothies and cafe to sandwiches and ice cream sundaes. The cafe also sells a wide range of merchandise. Thus our morning in Hongdae started well, with sandwiches pink lemonade, I left have photographed the building to within an inch of its life and having purchased both handmade cookies (obviously in the shape of Hello Kitty and friends) and a bag of fresh coffee...