Final Goodbyes to South Korea and to friends

We really loved our stay in Andong but decided to leave a day early to catch up with the newly weds Yonghee and Kosei. The autumn colurs even more vivid now from the train window.Yonghee called us and offered her families home for the night.They live in a beautiful apartment fairly new and in an area very close to the city centre. We enjoyed our first Korean BBQ with them in a tent on the street. As you enter the tent inside are lots of tables . Each has a charcoal heated centre with a sparkling clean grill on top. The tables are full of business men in suits , very noisy and bustly. Fantastic atmosphere. The meat is cut into small portions and placed on the round grillplate to cook very quickly. We are supplied with a variety of sauces , vegetables and salad items such as lettuce and of course seaweed wrappers. As the food is cooked you wrap the meat in the lettuce along with the other items and eat . So yum. We also tried our first Korean spirits we liked that as well. It is an experience one would not want to miss if visiting Korea.Just remember to look inside those red tents.Every meal we have we are learning to eat new foods and of course how to eat them. Thanks to friends like Yonghee and kosei.It was so cold that night it was minus 1 so to warm us up we decided to brave the night and visit the Seoul Tower at 10 pm.It was freezing but so worth it as it was very clear. The walk down the mountain all the way to their home was fantastic especially after all that food.
The next day was a treat also experiencing shopping in Lotte dept store, eating great food in the basement my last Bibimbap and last meal with our hosts and experiencing the Fountain Bridge which has the Guiness Book Of Record for the longest fountain from a bridge.With regrets we leave them though knowing we will see them again in July next year when they come back To Adelaide to study.We also wish them well in their new venture importing , selling and promoting 'soap nuts' for bettering the environment.
At night we had our final meal in Korea with Hwang, Joanne , John and Dana..Shon's cousins at a very different Korean BBQ where we had our first meal on floor mats traditioally..my knee held up thank goodness. We were hosted in their home also. They live in an apartment on the 14th floor so it was fantastic to see how they live as a family.We experienced the Korean Wii as well so it was a fun night with the kids.What a wonderful family they are . Thankyou to them for looking after us so well in Korea and giving up their time and taking vacation time.We really appreciate it.Thankyou to Hwang for taking us to the airport vey early as well.
Anyone comtemplating travelling to an Asian destination may I suggest you look in to Korea. It is easy to travel, is inexpensive, safe and is a very peaceful country.We loved it and the food was such a surprise.