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water

Bohol and Panglao

May 4, 2016

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Even though we would have, we weren’t able to book a full week in Moalboal. We decided to spend the last two nights of our vacation on the island province of Bohol.

Getting from Moalboal to Panglao took an entire day. I was hoping we’d be able to catch a ferry out of Oslab, but with it being Easter weekend, we were told the smaller ports would be crowded and unreliable. We hired a taxi for 1500PHP (around $30) to drive us three hours to Cebu City. From there, we purchased ferry tickets to Tagbilaran. The ferries had already sold out of the earlier time slots. After a few hours wait, we took the 2.5 hour ferry ride east to Tagbilaran. It was dark by the time we got there.

We stayed at Momo Village on Panglao Island, just off the southwestern tip of Bohol. We found and booked the place through AirBnB. (Get $20 off your first stay with AirBnB!) Momo Village was AWESOME. The owner, Ana, was so hospitable. Believe the reviews – her cooking is incredible. Momo Village had a five-story tower with a room on each floor. We stayed in the very top apartment (which was originally never meant for guests, but was Ana’s husband’s art studio). The view was amazing.

The mosquitoes weren’t awful at that time of year, but we needed the windows open to keep the room cool. So we put up the mosquito net to avoid creepy crawlies on us while we slept:

Ana’s husband had several beautiful driftwood pieces around the property:

After a delicious breakfast, we rented a motorbike from Ana and set off to explore. There was an option for a full-day tour around the area, but our time was limited and there were only a couple of places we wanted to see.

A holy week procession:

Our first stop was the Tarsier Sanctuary. These nocturnal primates were mostly sleeping, but we caught a few with open eyes! They were cute little guys. A few fun facts:

They grow to just over 6 inches and weigh between 2.8–5.6 oz.
Tarsiers are able to rotate their heads 180º to compensate for their immovable eyeballs.
They are carnivorous primates. They eat insects, spiders, lizards, and birds.
Their third finger is the same length as their upper arm.

From there, we went to the Chocolate Hills. There are over 1,200 of these natural land formations. Unfortunately, no chocolate was involved. The mounds get their name from their brown appearance during the dry season. Apparently the limestone mounds were formed ages ago by the uplift of coral deposits and the action of rain water and erosion.

We had lunch at the restaurant at the Chocolate Hills. The quality wasn’t amazing, but the prices weren’t bad and we were super thirsty and hungry.

We stopped by White Beach, but were too disturbed by the super old white men with teenage girls and left soon after. We’re talking girls probably younger than their daughters. Eegh.

It was a long day on the motorbike. David did a great job of driving. We both did a great job of sweating. The showers we took that night were some of the most needed and refreshing ones we’d had in awhile. We ate dinner that evening at Momo Village. I’m telling you – probably the best meal you can have in Bohol!

Our time in Bohol was short, but I’m glad we were able to explore it for a day! Ana drove us to the ferry port early the next morning. We took the ferry back to Cebu City and a taxi from the port to the airport.

Travel Note: When flying out of the Cebu Airport, there is an airport fee of 750PHP per person (about $16). You must pay this before you go to the gate area, so keep some pesos on you!

I claim our first Asia trip (outside Korea) a success! 🙂

Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls

April 27, 2016

Leah

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During our stay in Moalboal, Philippines, we wanted to take full advantage of the gorgeous scenery and explore some of the local landscape. Our resort offered excursions through their company Planet Action Adventure. We signed up with our friends for the Kawasan Falls Canyoneering expedition.

We were so glad to have booked it through the adventure company. They provided the transportation, gear, wonderful guides, and a delicious lunch. We left the resort at 9:00 am and returned around 3:00pm.

You guys. This experience was SO. COOL. And these pictures do not do Kawasan Falls and the canyon justice. (We had a waterproof cover for David’s phone, but it was difficult to take great photos and videos. Thanks to our friend Lauren for some of these pics!)

Riding on top of the van. No big deal.

It was Team Chaco vs. Team Keen and we all won.

The van dropped us off up stream and we began our trek into the canyon. We jumped into fresh water pools, slid and shimmied down rocks, swam, and took in the amazing tropical scenery. I was cautious and did not do some of the larger jumps (partially because I’m a wimp, but this time I had an excuse). I doubt the experience would have been a doctor recommended event so soon after my surgery, but it all turned out fine.

We ended our hike at Kawasan Badian National Park. The waterfalls there are popular and were what we saw photos of when we first researched the area. We didn’t have time to swim there, but it was cool to see. I’m glad we didn’t try to do the park on our own – we wouldn’t have seen or experienced anywhere near what did with the tour.

The BBQ lunch was fantastic. Fish, squid, chicken, rice, salad, bananas (or plantains?)… We were HUNGRY and all got our fill. Bravo, Planet Action Adventure.

Other Notes:
This was a very physical adventure and we wouldn’t recommended it for small children. You can avoid some of the cliff jumps, but in several places you must jump in order to continue down the canyon. The guides were great and showed us where to step and pointed out where to land. Wear shorts (the life jacket straps ride up) and shoes with lots of traction. You can sign up for the tour even if you aren’t staying at Tipolo.

Philippines: Moalboal

April 20, 2016

Leah

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The fourth week of March was spring break and we traveled to the Philippines! I was a little nervous; it was our first East Asia trip outside of Korea. I shouldn’t have worried. The Philippines was a dream and just the escape we needed. We chose there because it had the cheapest airfare and the beach.

When it came to planning, we had no idea where to start. Fortunately, some friends were traveling there too and let us crash their digs. We flew into Cebu City and spent five nights at Tipolo Resort in Moalboal. (We spent our last two nights in Panglao. More on that in another post!) Tipolo was the best. The restaurant had delicious meals, $6 hour massages, kayaks and gear to rent, and it was quiet and right on the beach… we would absolutely go there again!

We took a late flight out of Seoul and didn’t land in Cebu until 1:25 am. We booked transport across the island to Moalboal through the resort, which worked out great. It was a long drive, maybe 3 hours or so. Because we booked the room for that night, we crashed as soon as we set down our bags.

Seoul’s pollution did a number on me before break and a small cough turned into a full on infection. I lost my voice, was hacking up a lung, and I knew I needed antibiotics. In the morning, we took a motorbike taxi into town and stopped at a pharmacy. The pharmacy required a prescription, and after a couple of hours, I was able to see a doctor (pediatrician) and get the meds I needed. I was nervous that the visit was going to set us back on cash, but it cost $6 to see the doctor. SIX. DOLLARS. That’s it. And then around $25 for meds. With z-pack in tow, we took a motorbike taxi back to Tipolo to enjoy our vacation.

Motorbike taxis were a hoot:

We had a blast playing in the water, checking out White Beach, searching for colorful coral, and riding around the area. Renting a motorbike for a day cost just under $9!

I’m obsessed with the colors of our beach finds. I called this our handful of Frutti Pebble confetti:

Another dream fulfilled: fresh coconut!

Moalboal is famous for scuba diving. We didn’t, but David snorkeled and saw some amazing fish and coral:

Most of the signs we saw were hand painted. Swoon!

Where we ate:

The Last Filling Station at Tipolo. The French breakfast was my favorite. And all of the mango and fruit juices. And the mango dream ice cream dessert. The pizzas were good too. Did I mention the mango?
Blue Abyss Dive Resort Restaurant. Food was decent.
Veranda on Panagsama Beach. This was our favorite meal, maybe because we were so hungry that night.
A fish restaurant close to the Chilli Bar Restaurant. I didn’t catch the name of it. Overpriced, slow service, but the tuna was really yummy.

Where we stayed:
Tipolo was great. The meals at the restaurant and gear rentals were added to the room tab, which was convenient. The ladies who worked there were all kind and helpful. The rooms were a good size and clean. The showers had no water pressure, but the water was hot. Wifi didn’t reach to our room, but was fine in the dining area. It was not a fancy hotel resort, but was perfect for our needs. We recommend it!

I’ll share soon about our canyoneering adventure in Badian!

Trumpeter Swans on Magness Lake

January 16, 2016

Leah

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While we were in the States over Christmas break, we traveled south to see my mom in Arkansas. She heard about some other northern visitors, and we drove to Heber Springs to check them out.

Arkansas hosts hundreds of trumpeter swans every winter! The swans migrate from the Midwest to Magness Lake and enjoy the warmer temperatures from November through February. Trumpeter swans are the largest of waterfowl in North America and are the rarest type of swan. Their wingspan can reach up to 10 feet! The first three swans came to the lake in 1992; researchers think they were knocked off course by a storm. Swans mate for life and they teach their young their migration routes. Now, as many as 150 swans can be seen on the lake at a time.

We stopped by the lake in the afternoon and saw around 25 swans, along with other ducks and geese. If we had stayed a little longer, we might have seen more fly in after their day out hunting. A friend gave us a bag of cracked corn to feed the birds. They were beautiful!

To see the swans, take Arkansas 110 east from its intersection with Arkansas 5 and 25 just east of Heber Springs. Go 3.9 miles from the intersection to Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, marked with a white sign. Turn left onto Hays Road. Parking spots are available. The swans are best seen in the mid-afternoon to dusk hours.

We look forward to visiting the swans over winters to come!

Suncheon Bay and Yeosu

December 11, 2015

Leah

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David’s school has a working relationship the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation. This group is so very generous and offers cultural trips to teachers twice a year! We were so excited when we found out we made it on the list for the trip over Thanksgiving weekend. It was a quick trip; we left Friday morning and returned Saturday evening. The foundation organized everything – transportation, lodging, and food. It was nice to just be along for the ride!

We left Seoul on the KTX speed train. Some of our friends clocked the train at the top speed of 184 mph! Even though the snow didn’t stick in Seoul on Thanksgiving, we passed fields and mountains loaded with snow. Just 2.5 hours later, we arrived in Suncheon Bay (순천만).

After a delicious Korean BBQ lunch, we spent a short 30 minutes at the Suncheon Open Film Set, the largest film site in Korea. The place consisted of three villages representing the 1950s to the 1970s. I haven’t seen any Korean dramas or movies yet, so I didn’t recognize any of the sets.

Next, we took the tour bus to Suncheon Bay Ecological Park (순천만자연생태공원). This wetland preserve had the largest reedbed in Korea, mudflats, and plenty of wildlife, including the rare hooded crane. We took a ferry boat ride and hiked around the grounds.

We spotted a couple of otters! You can see the back of one in the middle of this photo:

The tour guide said reeds like this are used to make a special type of broom that lasts 30 years. Suncheon Bay is a government protected area, so I don’t know if these particular reeds are used or not:

The foundation put us up in an incredible hotel in Yeosu (여수) called The MVL (which stands for Most Valuable Life). The rooms had gorgeous views of the bay. We thought one feature was funny… the bathroom had a curtain that opened like a window to the room. The purpose was so you could watch the sun rise and set as you bathe.

We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel. The buffets were to die for. Soups, Korean food, sushi, seafood, pastries, fruit… We ate so. much. food. Here was the first (of probably three) of my breakfast plates:

After checking out of the hotel, we loaded our bags on the bus and then walked to the Yeosu Maritime Cable Cars (여수 해상케이블카). This attraction opened in December 2014. We rode in the special “crystal” cars that had glass bottoms. The views were beautiful as we traveled over the Dadohae Marine National Park and Dolsandaegyo Bridge.

After our cable car rides, we walked to Odongdo Island (오동도). We had less than an hour there. The weather was much warmer in Yeosu and the greenery was beautiful.

Dragon cave:

This is called a turtle ship, a Korean warship. The ship was loaded with spikes and cannons. Both cannons and flames were fired from the dragon’s mouth:

After another huge lunch, we headed to the train station to return to Seoul. We had a wonderful time with our 23 friends! Thank you, KFS Foundation!!!

• For more information on the Suncheon area, visit www.suncheon.go.kr.
• For more information on the Yeosu area, visit www.ystour.kr/en/main.jsp.

Sixth Grade Retreat in Daecheon

November 6, 2015

Leah

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Every year the school has a Week Without Walls where middle school students spend time learning outside the classroom. A friend asked if I’d be willing to help during the sixth grade trip.

We traveled three hours south to a small retreat center on Daecheon Beach (대천) in the coast city of Boryeong. It was a short trip; we were gone three days and two nights. The place where we stayed was beautiful with fall colors and a porch that overlooked the Yellow Sea.

My friend Ji and I were the cooks. The menu was simple, but I had never put together quantities like that before! We served around 80 people. I have a whole new appreciation for cooks and caterers. We made around 180 sandwiches, 300+ pancakes, and hard boiled 180 eggs in two batches.

We spent most of our time in the kitchen, but were able to slip away twice to explore the beach. One afternoon we finished the sandwiches early and spent a couple of hours in a coffee shop a short walk away. We had the place to ourselves for a while!

It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed myself. I always love time near the water.

We laughed at this sign on the trip back to Seoul… merge right, I guess?

I can’t find website information on the retreat center itself. We stayed in the group area that had the kitchen, 14 bunk rooms, and an auditorium. They also have small cabins available for rent. Our time there was the latest in the season they had ever stayed open and they had to do special work on the heaters before we arrived. If I find out the name, I’ll update the post.

Chuseok in Sokcho

October 8, 2015

Leah

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We took our first trip outside of Seoul! We traveled 200 km east to a coastal city called Sokcho (속초).

Korea celebrated their harvest festival called Chuseok (추석) the last weekend of September. (The dates change from year to year based on the lunar calendar.) We heard people describe it as the Korean Thanksgiving. They also said it’s a bigger holiday than Christmas. People typically travel to their hometowns to spend time with family. Traditional customs include rituals to honor ancestors, but not everyone practices those.

We were a little nervous. It was our first trip in Korea and one on our own. We purchased bus tickets the week before at Express Bus Terminal. The lady at the counter spoke fairly good English, and David confirmed the departure times two or three times with her. We didn’t even think to double check the tickets themselves and when we handed them to the man to board the bus, we realized she had given us tickets for 3:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm. We headed back to the counter and hoped we could get another bus that night. Fortunately — and I don’t know if this was because of the holiday or not — buses were leaving every 10 minutes and we got on the next one. I was amazed! I was so worried they would be sold out. (We ended up changing our tickets again on our return trip to get back earlier. The process was easy and they didn’t charge us anything extra.) It took us around 3 hours to get there and it would have taken less had it not been for the holiday traffic. The return trip was 4.5 hours.

Sokcho is a smaller city of around 90,000 people. Everything moved a little slower and the people were more tan (like me!). The area where we stayed was quiet. This may have been because of Chuseok and/or it being past beach season. The city is situated around the bay and the mountains and felt a lot smaller than it looked on the map. We loved the fresh sea air and gorgeous views!

It was a great little getaway. We rented an electric motorcycle for $10 and road around the Expo Tower, saw the Tree of Hearts sculpture, stuck our feet in the water, and explored the market areas. We also hiked in Seoraksan National Park… I’ll do a post on that later! Our last day, we stopped by the Abai (North Korean Expat) Village for lunch.

David’s now shot a gun in three countries! America, Georgia, and Korea:

Being on the coast, we saw seafood and hatcheries everywhere:

The Donghae (meaning the East Sea… aka the Sea of Japan):

We saw a few foreigners swimming, but we just stuck our feet in:

Like we saw in Turkey, Koreans sun dry a lot of food:

When you have stuff to dry, might as well string them all together. Socks, eggplant, and squid:

A hand drawn ferry to the Abai Village:

Where we stayed:
City Seoul Motel. We booked our reservation through AirBnB. It was very clean and in a good location. It was right around the corner from the Sokcho Foodtown. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to the beach area, but from what we heard from friends, cost about half the price of the hotels closer to the water.

Where we ate:
• Matsu – a cozy Italian restaurant tucked away near the national park. We met up with some friends from the school who had eaten here before. A plate of pasta cost around $15 and included a free appetizer, salad, and dessert! I had a delicious seafood alfredo dish. I don’t know if there’s a great way to get to the restaurant by public transportation. It’s close to the entrance of the hill that goes up to Seoraksan National Park.
• Flat White – this was a gem of a coffee shop! We had breakfast here two mornings. The shop has its own roastery inside.

Sokcho was a great location for our first Korea trip! I highly recommend it. I’ll share more about Seoraksan National Park soon.

Any recommendations for our next excursion in Korea?