Mini-Update

We just got back from visiting a crater left by a volcano, and survived the most harrowing cab ride ever. We had to go from the SE of the island to the SW, and took a cab to get back. The driver was -insane-. (Zane: "You should title this entry, 'I'm glad I'm alive'"). We were going between 70 and 80mph, up and down winding mountain roads. At one point, he passed -two cars at once-, while -cresting a hill-. He turned LEFT at a T, coming from the bottom of it, without stopping. He just sort of blinked three times, to let any car nearby know he was going to be barreling through. It was just nuts, and it didn't even seem as efficient as the route we took to get out there. He ended up underestimating his cost to us, but didn't make us
pay the whole fare on his meter. He kind of "Whewed" at the end, relief clear on his face, as if he realized how crazy he was driving and how lucky we were to arrive in one piece.

We've done a lot in the past few days. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but internet has either been (1) unavailable, or (2) expensive. I lack a USB drive, so I really can't write up the entries here and transfer them to another computer. I'm posting this now from our hotel (the Hyatt Regency, Jeju! Only 80 something a night between us, with stairs leading right down to the beach. Staying in a Hyatt is luxurious. We told the Concierge we wanted to try "Black Pork", but didn't want an expensive restaurant. So, he called a local resturant, who sent a car to pick us up. The price wasn't more than we were willing to pay, either. We just ordered room service, and it was excellent. Off-season prices FTW). The trouble is that it charges something like 2 dollars for 15 minutes of internet usage. This is useful for checking up on minor things, but not really conducive to writing blog posts. I have several -done-, but I'll probably have to wait until Sunday to post them, when we're back in Seoul (it's a bit of a process to upload the pictures, then check flickr to get the right URL). I tried uploading pics earlier today, but wasn't able to get more than around 8 done before the internet gave out (admittedly, I was checking other things at the same time. Gmail, trying to arrange a trip to the DMZ over email, checking NHL news. I was 6 / 8 on my 1st round playoff picks, with my two misses coming from the Conference I pay no attention to whatsoever. Detroit's going to win the West anyway, so... not like it matters).

ANYWAY, here's a sumup of what we've done in the past few days, with the pictures to follow when I have time.

Seoul, where we watched a Lantern parade and dodged floats, and walked through a Buddhist street festival.

Gyeongju, where we hiked a mountain, were treated like rockstars by elementary school students, hiked another mountain (and got sorta lost, which only made me nervous when it started to rain as we were going downhill on rocks), and visited a few temples.

Jeju, where we were treated like rockstars by a group of high school students (which kinda began to become grating, only because I do not like being the center of attention), walked several beaches, saw a few waterfalls, spent some time on hexagonal rocks made from lava flows, and hiked into a crater left over from a Volcano. We also had a crazy-scary cab ride, as mentioned above. Tomorrow we plan to climb the central volcano of Jeju, Mt. Halla.

Thus far, most Koreans have been exceptionally nice, and the country is perhaps the most beautiful I have ever visited. It's filled with forested mountains, and, since i'm visiting in May, lots of flowers are in bloom. Every Buddhist temple is adorned with colored lanterns. I've definitely been doing a nature-oriented vacation, which is turning out to be a wonderful choice, as the country is visually stunning (though I feel exhausted at the end of each day of hiking).