We arrived in Kangneung a little later than expected because Readon woke up late, and we were behind schedule by about two hours. One we arrived on the East coast, we made Seorak-san our main excursion for the day. Our first stop was some temple on the way to Yangyang. As you can see, I’m not good with remembering things.

[Check out the entire Flickr album HERE.]

After a short stop there, we made it to a small lighthouse on the coast. Lo and behold, what did we see along the path?!

A few years ago, a photographer snapped this photo of us at the Yangyang Salmon Festival, and it has been used ever since for advertisement for the festival.

We then took the backroads to some “famous” restaurant for lunch. By the looks of it, I’m on a dongdongju binge. By binge, I mean 2-3 cups.

Unfortunately, Ras didn’t fully understand what we were having for lunch. Cold noodle soup is actually one of the few Korean foods he dislikes. It tasted good, but I personally prefer hot soups too.

Outside the restaurant were beautiful rice fields. It’s harvest time.

I had forgotten my lens cap in the restaurant and ran back inside to retrieve it. While I was gone, Ras snapped this photo.

“Oh no! Raswan, watch out! The creepy serial killer in the back seat is about to slit your throat!!!!”

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The road trip to the coast was busy, but fun.  I got some good pictures and ate a lot - definitely the signs of a good trip.  I’ve chosen 100+ pictures and am ready to upload them to Flickr tomorrow.  For now, here’s the first place we stopped on our touristy road trip.

Hey, I’ll be able to make this festival before I fly out the following Monday, June 18th.  Gangneung is where I called “home” for three years.  I miss it.

“Dano” is one of Korea’s four traditional festivals which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the lunar calendar. The “Gangneung Danoje,” with a history of more than 1,000 years, has been designated as one of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. Programs will include rituals in honor of gods and performances of traditional music, dances and plays. Foreign performers from China, Japan, Vietnam, Estonia, Cambodia and Turkey will also introduce their traditional culture and martial arts.

For further information, visit the festival’s Web site http://www.danojefestival.or.kr or call 033-648-3014.

Last night, a 4.8 earthquake shook Gangneung.  I didn’t feel it here in Pusan, but supposedly, it could be felt around the country.  Thankfully, there was no serious damage.

Ras has been in Korea for about a week now, and spent a couple days catching up with friends in Kangneung. I received this from him today:

i’m in myongdong with reardon right now, watching crazy ajumas overturning a street vendor’s table. good stuff.

I hope Reardon is a little more cautious, or THIS could happen to him.

…as it did with a normally mild-mannered blogger.