WEEK 2 - DAEGU

My mission is going well and I'm having SO much fun with my friends!!

Wednesday January 25th - Spa Vallley

Thursday January 26th - Samgyupsal 

Friday January 27th - Bowling, drinks and noraebang

Saturday Jaunary 28th - Samgye Tang

I decided to venture into Daegu this week. Yes I've been to Daegu a million times but my visits usually involve dancing, shopping or eating. Daegu is a metropolitan city about 30 minutes by subway from where I live (or 10 minutes by train). I've never really explored it at all. (Does an amusement park count?) 

So since I've never really done anything in Daegu, Helyn and I decided to get all our friends together and head off to Spa Valley on Wednesday. 

What is Spa Valley?  

Fay and I looking kinda scared. 

Well firstly  don't let the

name fool you. Usually the first thing you think about when you hear 'spa' is aromatherapy, massages, candles, soft music and soothing streams. Well not in this case. However you can expect to find some pretty cool stuff that does the job.  

The Spa offers:

* A water park with slides and a pool with fake waves. This closes  during winter but there's one slide that stays open. Don't be too alarmed- everything is sheltered and the water is heated. So you're outside, but not quite. 

* An indoor heated pool. Nice but there's also a kid's pool in this section so things can get a big messy if you know what I mean. 

* An indoor hot tub. Basically a small big Jacuzzi.

*A scrub service. Get a Korean ajumma (aunt) to scrub you down and 'scold' you for being so dirty. All in jest though. This was not available for men on that day which was great because I was not willing to go naked anyway. 

*Saunas.

* Heated rest rooms. Also known as 'dry saunas'. These rooms have TVs and pillows etc in which you can actually sleep in or just relax, and you stay dry the whole time.  

The guys. If I can remember correctly - from left: Jarrod, Tim,
 Me, Rodney and Paul.

EVERYONE! Megan, Rodney, Jarrod, Paul, Steph, Tim,
 Helyn , Fay and I. 

Everyone except Helyn who was taking the photo. 

I had such an amazing time here! Just what we needed for a cold winters day. 

On Thursday we decided to get in with some 삼겹살/ Samgyupsal. We went to a famous restaurant in the University area in which we live.

So what is samgyupsal?       

Curry on the right and black pepper on the left. 

It's strips of pork barbecued/ braai'd into seasoned bits of sizzling sensations. On the right is a picture of the pork all laid out nicely on a platter. You get various kinds - herb, black pepper, oriental, curry and a few others that I don't remember. Sooo delicious! This was and always will be one of my top Korean dishes. 

Tong master doing his thing. 

On Friday was Winston's siblings' last weekend in Gyeongsan so he got everyone together for a night out on the town. We started off with some bowling. Of course I didn't complain because bowling is one of my absolute favourite things to do. Time: 7.00pm

Winston and Lorna know it's about the right size... and the right colour. 

The Boys - Happy with their scores.

Not so happy with our scores... but still lookin' FRESH!

2 hours later we decided to pack up our shoes and put down our balls and head out to mingle with the University students in our area... but first... group picture, say kimcheeeee!!!

EVERYONE!

Next stop: Fish and Grill. Hmmmmm. Time: 9.00pm

Vegetables covered in cheese and sauce served on a shell. 

Lorna and I were hungry so we decided to get in there with some yummy bar food... Only to find it was the spiciest dish on the menu. FAIL. I ate it alone - sorry Lorna!! 

Tim, Adrian, Jarrod and Josh getting their 'bad boy' faces on. 

Fishy Fishy!!!

What would a great night be without some good ol' noraebang?? So off we went 3 hours later to get our sing on! Time: 12.00 midnight. 

Anthea, Steph, Helyn and Anthea getting the party started. 

Yes. Everyone had a good time. 

Amey, Helyn, Megan and Tim getting ready for their song. 

We went home at about 3am. Good times!!


Weeeeeekend!!! On Saturday we decided to get in there with more Korean food. This time round we opted for some 삼계탕/ Samgye tang on a beautiful winters evening in downtown Daegu. 


So what is Samgye Tang?

Ready to eat!

It's a whole chicken boiled and served in soup/ broth (tang). This is a very simple and easy to cook dish. Apart from the chicken and water, there is chicken stock, spices and some spring onions that are added to enhance the flavour. It's all served in a huge stoneware bowl that almost resembles a pot. 

Smells divine! 

It's steaming hot when brought to you so it's almost inevitable that you'll go in for a smell and just take in that beautiful aroma.

Helyn getting ready to dive in.

Almost everyone :)

Week 2 successfully completed. In the two years that I've been here, I've never done so many things all in week.

I'm looking forward to the coming weeks ahead and most importantly getting in there with Korea! After this week Helyn just has 2 weeks left and I have just over 2. Time flies when you're having fun!

Signing out until next time!