A Big Muddy Mess

For the past ten years or so a town named Boryeong has become famous for its annual festival simply named-Mud Fest. For the last couple of years over 1.5 million people show up here to spread this magical grey mud all over their bodies.

The mud is pumped from another location and is put in stations on the beach with brushes to paint yourself. There are also areas with slides and mud-wrestling. Usually in Korea when you get ready to go to some festival or island you become acustomed to being a little let down because its never what you pictured. But the mud fest was actual what I thought it would be. The mud was really soothing in a weird kind of way and I hadn't seen that many foreigners in months.

Barb came up from Busan and hitched a ride with Greggers. Its nice that she's here and I'm sad sometimes that she is so far away but when we do see each other we enjoy each other's company even more.

What are the accomodations?? Well my inquisitive audience of seven, basically you rented a small duplex of 700 sq feet with two bathrooms and slept 13 people on the floor. Even such modest quarters will cost you 30,000 won per person or $24 .

After Brandon, Kim, Barbs, and I all spent the afternoon getting muddy we walked back to the hotel and stumbled into a parade. This parade was

in the middle of the afternoon with virtually no audience. As a Korean man who was marching handed me a flag as though it was the 4th of July and old glory was being presented to a five year old, I realized......

Korea is so bizarre, and to be honest I'm not even surprised anymore by such random acts but I'm also aware that if I ever do land my feet back in the states, I'll miss the strange unorganized feel of this place.

The last experience was waking up next to a complete stranger. Barb, Brandon, Kim and I split a room and when we woke to Erica telling us it was time to leave, she asked about the guy laying next to Barbie. I told her I noticed him there a couple hours ago but had no idea. He slowly woke after hearing inquisitions to his current position. He demanded to know who we were and why we were in his room. I politely asked him to look around and see if he saw anyone he knew, and said I think you may have stumbled into the wrong room bud. He was quite embarassed and stood up in a t-shirt and underwear and said he was sorry and left.

Another weekend, another chapter opened and closed in the novel of my Korean adventure.