Spring has definitely sprung here in Korea and it is something to marvel at. All of a sudden the weather warms and green begins to appear around you with what seems to be no effort. The cherry blossoms were something that I really enjoyed to see, because I don't believe I have ever seen so many in one place back in the midwest. In Jinhae, the town next door, they have a cherry blossom festival, which was a wonder to see. A small group of my friends and I biked to Jinhae. It was a great way to take in the spring weather and to get some exercise on the 15km ride. The cherry blossoms seemed to go on forever creating a canopy of soft pink petals.
I have been fortunate to make some great Korean friends who are around my age. Fred (Seung Hun) and Daniel (Chang Hee) are two guys I met back in October at the lantern festival in Jinju. Now Fred has moved to Busan to work on his masters at a university there. Daniel is still in Jinju finishing his last year of university. These guys are loads of fun and we always have lots of laughs when we are together. Over one weekend I spent a day in Busan with Fred and a day in Jinju with Daniel. Although we all weren't together, it still proved to be an excellent visit in both cities.
Jinju water reservior. L-R Jeffrey (Wooseung), Daniel, Me
I celebrated Easter/spring in a unique way this year. Each spring the people of India celebrate Holi Hai. This celebration is spring and the coming summer. During this festival people throw colored powder at each other and dance the day away. Some Indian expats put together a festival to be held at a beach in Busan. I went with a group of friends from Changwon and we had a great time on Easter Sunday celebrating spring and new life!
Tristan and me at the Holi Hai festival
Most recently I traveled to the city of Boseong to their historic and famous green tea fields. These tea fields have been cultivated since around 600 AD and were certified organic in 2005. This field is not the only on in the area, but the largest and oldest. I was lucky enough to spend the day with the lovely Sarah Perraton, a wonderful British gal. It was her last weekend in Korea and this was on her Korea bucket list, so we did it!
Sarah and myself at the lovely tea fields.
Just with the spring weather, weekends are quickly filling up with little adventures and I will be sure to keep you all posted about the fun trips!
The photos are great! Glad to see you're having such a lovely time.
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