A couple of weeks ago we received the news that Graham had a job interview back in the UK, so would be leaving South Korea five and a half weeks before me. Whilst this was great news, it was very sad to think we would be apart for so long. His departure was pretty quick, so he just had time to have a few drinks with some friends, go out to dinner a couple of times and then fit in a trip to the Hwacheon Ice Fishing Festival before leaving the country.

The festival was 6 hours north of Gwangju, and we went on a trip there with Pedro Kim and 5 others. Two of the other guests were friends of ours, and the other three soon were too. On the Saturday we set off early for Petite France, a French themed small tourist village. This was where we would spend the night in a pension (tourist flat /apartment). Downstairs was a small room with a double bed, and upstairs were 2 single beds, a large floor space with many mattresses (it is traditional to sleep on the floor in Korea), a fridge, kettle and bathroom. They are great for families, or for small groups like us! After checking in we had a quick walk around the small buildings and found a music room, games room and costume room. Graham and Logan had much fun trying on the costumes and playing on the drums!

We then went for dak galbi for lunch (Korean BBQ, with chicken) and then took a ferry to Nami Island. This is a small island in the middle of a lake, and is very popular with Korean couples. The rich owner of the island left strict instructions when he died that the island should never be developed, and that it should be kept as a place of natural beauty with many animals and birds on. Wildlife is quite rare in South Korea due to the very large population, so it was nice to see many rabbits and birds, including an emu and an ostrich! There were bikes and carts for hire on the island, so we had a go on a tandem for a while. There were also many museums and sculptures around - many of which were rather phallic, and some just plain rude! For such shy people, the Koreans don't seem to be offended by this, and many were getting their children to pose underneath the giant sculpture of a naked woman breastfeeding 2 children!

That evening we chatted and played games back at the pension. The next morning we set off for the Hwacheon Ice Fishing Festival. The festival was very crowded, as Koreans love their fresh fish. The ice is so thick that they drill small holes through it for you to fish through. You then stand there with your rod hoping to catch some trout from the river below. Everyone was successful at this except for me! The ice was packed full of people, but there was a separate foreigner section, which was pretty empty, as they are trying to encourage foreign visitors, and know that the Korean areas can get very full and competitive. You can then BBQ you fish and eat them fresh. They were delicious, so I was very grateful that the rest of our group had been successful at catching many fish! There were many other activities at the festival like ice skating, curling, tube sledding, go carts, etc. We just had time for one activity and a walk around to see the amazing ice sculptures. We choose the tube sledding, and it was so much fun!

So, it was a fantastic weekend, but then a very sad farewell to Graham on the Monday evening. However he was successful in the job interview, so all was worthwhile and he has started work already. Now the countdown for my departure begins. Only 32 days to go!

Maggie x