As last Monday was a public holiday, the week went very quickly, so it was soon time for us to go away again.On Saturday morning Graham's Korean friend Kim Qi Han picked up Graham and me, and our friend Darrell.This was the first time I had met Qi Han, and he had planned the whole weekend for us on an island called Hong-Do.Hong-Do is one of the 1700 islands which make up the Dadohae Haesang National Park, to the south west of South Korea.Qi Han is a man with friends in high (useful) places, many of whom Graham had already met, and we were soon to meet some more of them. First he drove us down to Mokpo, to the Ferry Terminal, which is about an hour from Gwangju.We knew the ferry should cost about 140,000 Won each for the return trip, but Qi Han had told us he could get us discount, and we would only need to pay 70,000 Won each (about 38.00GBP).In fact this is the only thing we did pay for all weekend!

As we approached the ferry, we met one of his friends.When we asked Qi Han about our tickets, he told us not to worry, and his friend just took us through the gate.The ferry looked like an aeroplane inside, with rows of airline style seats and flat screen TV's.Qi Han took our bags and put them in the bridge with the captain.As he opened the door to put our bags in, Graham very excitedly asked if he could take some photos in there, which they let him do.Little did we realise what was coming next…As the ferry was full, there were no seats for us (as we had not paid for any).We were also a little disappointed that all the seating area was inside, as the outside deck was off limits during the crossing, and we really like being outside.Anyway, it turned out that Qi Han's friend was the ships First Mate, and we were to spend the 2 and a half hour ferry crossing in the bridge, with him, the captain and the engineers!They were all so friendly, and very welcoming to us, telling us information about the boat, and the area.There were also two side balconies from the bridge, so we got to stand outside.

We dropped people off at a couple of islands on the way, and picked up others.Finally we reached Hong-do, much of which is a protected nature reserve.There are only 2 villages on the rocky island, and the only access between them both is by boat.There seemed to be several large groups of Koreans, obviously on organised tours, as they had different coloured badges on!We were the only westerners, and I expect that few westerners have ever been to this island, as were certainly quite a novelty.At times I thought I was back in India, the way people starred and crowded around us - they were so friendly though.It was a lovely hot weekend, but the Koreans are so afraid of the sun that they look like they're on a winter holiday!They were all wearing long trousers and several layers of tops and waterproof jackets, in various fluorescent colours.Koreans do all love to dress the same.They also had big hats, huge sun visors and even gloves.We were the only ones exposing our skin to the sun, and sweating profusely - I don't know how they keep from sweating.

On our arrival, we were met by another friend of Qi Han's, who conveniently owns a guest house and restaurant on the island!We walked along the harbour side, past all of the stalls selling shellfish, fish and seaweed. He then took us a short walk up through the windy tiny streets, and to our guesthouse.There are no cars on the island; just a few motorbikes that have been converted so they have a trailer on the back (see photos).The guest house was new, I think we might have been some of their first guests, and we had an amazing sea view from our room.It was a typical Korean style room, with a mat on the floor for a bed.Luckily they provided lots of duvets, which we didn't need as it was so hot, so we piled those up to sleep on.There was also an outside patio area with benches, just near our rooms, so great for chilling out in the sun and having a drink.

We went straight for lunch in the restaurant below - again a typical Korean style restaurant where you sit on the floor and cook at your table.We had fish soup/ stew, which was fantastic, with whole cod fish thrown in.Along with this came all the usual side dishes that Koreans love to fill the table with, like Kimchi, and various pickled and spiced vegetables.I made the mistake of politely saying that I liked Soju though, and so they brought me a bottle to have with my lunch.Luckily Graham was up for drinking some, so I did not have to drink the whole thing. I can drink it when it is mixed with something else, but neat and for lunch was not too appealing to me! After lunch it was time to go out on a boat again to catch our dinner.The guest house owner had arranged a fishing boat for us for 2 hours, and we had a very successful trip.We did line fishing and had 3 lines between the 5 of us.I only used ours for a short time and caught 7 fish!In total we came home with about 40 fish, but had caught many more, as those that were too small we threw back.The fisherman certainly knew the best fishing spots and kept moving us from place to place.He did all the baiting up and unhooking of fish, so we just did the fun part of catching them and reeling them in!As we came back to the island, there was quite a crowd waiting excitedly to see what we had caught.Graham and Darrell then carried the bag of fish back to the guesthouse/ restaurant, followed by a crowd of Koreans wanting to see the catch.Back at the restaurant, more and more Korean women came to see and smiled at us with approval!There seemed to be a lot more women on holiday here, than men, and most people were over the age of 50.We saw very few people of our age, and just a handful of children.When a Korean woman reaches a certain age, wears a sun visor larger than a Darth Vader helmet, and likes to push people out of their way, and talk very loudly, they are called an ajumma - and there were certainly a lot of them on this island!

That evening we ate some of our catch for dinner.They prepared the fish for us, some sushi style, and some on the BBQ. Again this came with rice and all the usual Korean side dishes.It was delicious, especially as we knew we had caught it only a couple of hours earlier.After dinner we had a few drinks (we had brought some wine and beer with us, as we expected the island to be expensive) and then decided to go exploring.It was quite late, so Qi Han and his girlfriend had gone to bed, but we wanted to see what kind of night life there was on the island.Boy, were we in for a shock!We found a couple of very dark bars/ clubs playing very loud Korean rave/ dance music.The first one had only 2 people inside, so we went to the next, which was packed.We nick named the bar 'Club Tropicana' as it was a bit like stepping back to the 80's with all the coloured lights and disco balls, and the mass of ajummas wearing their fluorescent rain macs!All the tables had been pre booked, so they would not let us sit down, or order drinks, but they let us go in to have a look and I had to go have a dance!The ajummas welcomed me on the dance floor, and within seconds I had a group of them trying to follow my every move!It was the most surreal experience of my life, and the music was strange electronic Korean mix, with a very strong quick beat.It was like being at a 90's rave party!

After a quick dance we decided to go and buy a beer form the only shop in the village and sit outside on their patio chairs to cool down.Many Koreans were doing the same, and were all eager to say hello to us.Some came over to chat a little and one man nodded at us, went into the shop, and came out with a beer each for us, then left!Later one of the ship's engineers and one of his friends, who were both very drunk, came to sit with us and bought more beer!We had a long, drunken, broken English conversation with them, and they told us we must try 'Jun bok' which translates to Abaloni, but the British call them Ormers.These shell fish are apparently very desirable to both Koreans and Brits, and are very expensive.Apparently mature 'Jun bok' can fetch about 180,000 Won for 3 on the mainland of Korea, that's about 100GBP!They are quite common on the island of Hong-Do, so this is something the Koreans like to try whilst staying here.

The next morning we got up for breakfast and found a bowl of very green rice pudding in front of us!This was in fact congee, which is well cooked rice, and had a sesame taste to it. Inside this were pieces of the famous Abaloni - so we got to try some!It was very tender and I really liked it.Along with this were all the usual sides, plus some cold scrambled egg and a huge chunk of shark!Again this tasted great, really meaty, but I never thought I'd be eating it for breakfast!After breakfast we did a little climbing and exploring of the island.There were some pathways that led up and around the island, which you had to stay on, so you did not destroy any of the trees and plants on the island.These paths gave some fantastic views over the bays on either side of the island.

After our walk we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant which was opposite our guesthouse.This is the first Chinese food we have had since leaving England, and the sweet and sour pork was amazing - better than anything I've ever had in the UK.After lunch, there was just time to fit in a sightseeing boat trip before returning home.The trip was 2 and a half hours long, but we only went 21 km around the island.We wondered how they would make it last so long, but they like to stop at every interesting rock formation, so everyone on the boat (at least 100 people) can have their picture taken in front of it.There were only a few seats at the back of the boat in the sun, but as the Korean's don't like the sun, we easily got these, as they all wanted to sit inside or in the shade!There were certainly some impressive rock formations and caves, and many small islands to look at.There were also several fishermen on the rocks, who must have been dropped off by boat for the day.

About an hour or so into the journey we were nearly back to our starting place, but we stopped for a while as a fishing boat approached us.They came along to sell sushi and soju - like a supermarket on the ocean!The fish were still alive and swimming in a bucket, and they had an efficient production line going on the boat to prepare the sushi.One guy would knock out the fish, and then cut off the head and take out the guts.The next guy would skin and scale it and the last guy would box it up to sell!Qi Han bought some and we sat on the deck of the boat to eat our sushi - so fresh!

After the boat trip we had time for a quick look in the island museum, and at a private collection of rare plants which are native to South Korea, and worth a lot of money.The boat ride home was less adventurous, as we had seats and were all so tired we just went to sleep.The weekend was one of the most memorable ones I've had in Korea, and in my life.We did so much, as Qi Han had organised everything for us.Once again I am over whelmed with the kindness and generosity of the Korean people.

Maggie x