Not just any other Sunday

I mentioned previously that I had been invited to go to the beach this weekend with my friends James and Courtney. We set off at about 10:30 this morning to travel south to Jeongja beach. Although the temperature is just below zero today - we decided that since the sun was shining we would still make the trip. I have included several photos for you to enjoy below. We arrived at Jeongja and walked through the little fishing village. Many fishermen were still busy at work, folding nets and cleaning their boats. In this town, there is also a small fish market where you can buy the day's fresh catch. We took a walk through the market, which was amazing. I have never seen so many different types of seafood....some looking like they would make a good meal, while others left me pondering mother natures sense of humor.
After the fish market, we travelled down the road a little bit to Jeongja beach. This beach is a popular spot, and offers breathtaking views of the East Sea. We ate some lunch at a fabulous restaurant and then headed up towards the Mt. Muryongsan. The road was very old and very narrow - requiring us often to pull over to let cars pass the opposite direction. When we arrived at the top, there was a snow sledding hill where many children were buy sledding through the man-made snow.
The wind was so strong on the mountain I thought I might blow over while attempting to take photos. After reaching the summit and admiring the views, we had a quick coffee to warm up in a little road side cafe. They had a wood stove which made me think of winters back home.
Since it was after 3pm and James had plans for later in the afternoon, Courtney invited me to join her at a bathhouse for an afternoon of soaking and scrubbing.
I had never been to a bathhouse before, but Courtney assured me it was a lot of fun.
For those of you who are not familiar with Korean bathhouses, they are somewhat similar to spas, however, much cheaper. It cost us 5000won (approx. $6cad) to enjoy the many different baths (including mud, salt and other skin tingling ingredients). There were saunas and cold and hot baths, along with baths with jets and a huge shower with the strongest jets I have ever felt. Painful but good.
Basically, you buy soap, scrub and anything else you might wish to pamper yourself with and you go into the bath completely naked. I will admit I felt a little strange at first, especially since Courtney and I received many stares from the curious Korean women, but after a little while it seemed almost normal.
After a few hours of soaking and scrubbing, we spent a while in the sauna and then decided to go home.
Now, relaxed and feeling rejuvenated I am going to get some dinner and then get an early night.
Ciao for now.
Colleen