We got up early enough this morning to be in the orchard by 7 am. The orchard is on a hill, and the higher we climbed, the stronger the smell of citrus. About half of the trees were uja trees and the other half were a mixture of both kinds of persimmon. We were going to pick some persimmons to take with us and Youngik`s mother wanted me to pick some uja so she could make uja cha for me. Uja is a kind of citrus fruit that is quite sour, and it is cut up and layered with sugar. After a while it turns into a syrup that is mixed with hot water to make a delicious tea. Standing in the orchard with the breeze from the ocean and the smell of citrus made it a very special start to the day.
Back to the house for a traditional Korean breakfast: rice with beans, fish, soup, and side dishes. Then, we set off on our way. After a while we thought we should stop for coffee. Ever hopeful, we went to a different coffee shop and asked for drip coffee. This time the barrista said she didnt recommend it because it was quite old. So, Americanos for two. What is unclear to me though is how you can make a lukewarm Americano.
A short nap for the driver and then back on the road. In Canada it would take about 3 hours to go 300 km. In Korea it seems to take about 5 hours.
We arrived in Andong in time to go to the Mask Museum. It was really interesting; the traditional wooden carved masks are all from a play called Bongsan. Essentially, it`s making fun of the aristocratic class. All of the masks for the aristocrats show them with weird diseases like leprosy or scabies, or as idiots from too much intermarriage. It was an art form that allowed the lower classes to complain about the upper class.
There was a display of what is called `trick art`- it`s a picture on the wall and if one person stands in the right position, and the other person stands in the right position and take a picture, the first person looks like they are part of the picture on the wall. If this sounds confusing, the results are posted on Facebook.
The rest of the masks are from all over the world including one lonely Haida mask. It would be interesting to hear its story and how it got there. Perhaps the other odd thing was that the music that was playing over the sound system was Edelweiss, from the Sound of Music.
On to our motel. Youngik chose it online, and when he made reservations they said the room was 40,000 won for a yo room for the night, or 50,000 if we wanted beds. We thought we would be ok with yo – they`re like a thin futon (or an Air Canada omelette) that you spread on the floor. For $10 a night we thought we could sleep on the floor. When we arrived and I went to pay with my credit card, they said 45,000 if you use card, so we had to wander around looking for a bank. grrrr. Back to the motel to pay for our room, which turned out to have bizarre wallpaper that looks like shelved o business text books.
Out for dinner; we decided to eat the local traditional specialty, jjindak, which is a kind of chicken stew with noodles, a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy. We found a restaurant nearby that had many recommendations of all of the TV shows that it has been on. Dinner came, and it looked and smelled delicious. Then, to our surprise, they brought two extra side dishes…french fries sprinkled with something white, possibly Parmesan, and corn niblets with a cheese slice melted over the top. I told Youngik that I was not aware that french fries and cheese slices were traditional Korean food.
Back at the motel, Youngik asked at the office where the nearest laundromat is, and they said we could use their washing machine. They even gave us some soap, which made up for the pain over the visa card. Now I have clean clothes, and it is time for bed. Youngik has lived with me for long enough that he is not troubled by our room being festooned with my wet underwear.