I guess you know this means war!

A mixed bag again today beginning with a drive/walk along Meta-Sequoia Street. This is a pleasant narrow country road lined with conifer trees. It runs for several kilometres and has undoubtedly featured in more than one movie/TV Drama.

I picked the wrong day to drag out the DS to play on the bus. It seems all other families had temporarily banned the machines so the boys socialise a little more. No sooner had the zip around the container had unopened by only two teeth, when my bus seat suddenly was swarmed by technology hungry, ravenous beasts. Never have I been so popular, although it was a bit difficult playing games with orders barked at me to 'move, kick jump, go there', together with fingers in front of my eyes to tell me where to go. I was only asked 8 million times for a go of my DS too. I didn't drag it out again...though it didn't stop requests to play it from the boys. The techno radar is strong with this group. They can detect an anomaly in the force from a mile off.

The next stop was the Bamboo Museum. This is a good example of trying sell ice to Eskimos. The museum is well presented and the building encasing it is interesting too. There is a substantial mall of souvenir shops surrounding it but...... despite all the money and effort spent on introducing bamboo, it has become somewhat of a white elephant. Bamboo and bamboo products are so widely prevalent the the average Korean, or Asian for that matter simply aren't that interested in seeing and purchasing bamboo on holiday unless it is live.

Amelie looked for pandas in the forest but all she could find were pretend

Korea challenges Japan for the kitcsh

This is why we went to the Damyang Juknokwon (Bamboo Park). This is, as hinted by the title, a park/bamboo forest. Paths meander through the property amongst various types of bamboo. Most impressive are the “trees” whose canes can reach 30m high and form such a thick forest that one is forced to weave through. The amazing thing is that for such a strong plant, it is relatively short lived at only around 7 to 8 years. It's structural integrity see it have thousands of uses, from food, to jewellery, to tools, to flooring, to furniture, to clothing, to building material, to …....... you get the idea.

At lunch, just before the visit to the Bamboo Park, I learned how sneaky, conspiratorial and just downright evil Koreans can be. Basically they introduced me to one of the local delicacies. It wasn't the rice cooked in bamboo that we all had. When I say introduced, I mean ...more or less force fed. Mrs Lee raced over with a plate of Kim-Chi, Pork pieces and slivers of fish sushi. Nattering away excitedly as she prepared a mouthful layering Kim-chi, the fish and covering it with the pork. In the meantime Sunny took a very small piece of fish to show how nice it was. Mrs Lee quickly shoved the lot into my mouth and settled back to watch in amusement.

This stuff is Korean Vegemite. Yep it is certainly an acquired taste. Judging by the speed at which Sunny spat it out after I had been fed this “product”, few acquire the taste. When asked what I thought it was like, I replied it tasted like rancid beef left out too long on the butchers hook. Guess what...... That's what it was. Sting-ray wing hung way beyond it's use-by date (about 10 days) and served raw like sushi. Rancid as Rancid does. It was probably not my favourite dining experience, but certainly proved a great deal of merriment to our Korean host and “friend”. All I can say is, “ladies; game-on. Revenge will occur when least expected.....watch your backs. This was an evil plan worthy of Al Bubb.

Next we visit the factory of Aroohwa, a confection and food making company. The kids were taken through and made their own rice-cakes. This time they were similar to muesli bars. A little oil, rice syrup, flavourings/colourings (powdered mulberry leaves, cactus flower, gardenia flower) are heated in a wok to boiling. A grain mix of puffed Barley, White rice, black rice and millet added some nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds also added and mixed to even coating. The still warm mixture is pushed into a mould, rolled to an even thickness and when cooled cut into mouth sized pieces.

The lady that “owns' the recipe and is the face of their advertising came along to help out dressed formally in traditional han-bok of exquisite design. It was a little lost on the kids, but they did crowd around her whilst cooking to help and of course sample copious amounts of the wares.

At the factory we were taken to an upstairs room where a group of ladies were working away feverishly. The fruits of their labour were exquisite food sculptures of rice-cakes, fruit made from lollies and various other 'edible' items. The detail of with formal patterns, or intricate realistic sculptures were impressive. From what I could gleen from the broken English explanation, was that the women were preparing for an exhibition much like our agricultural shows. This particular one was to be in Seoul the following day.

A final stop was at Changpyeong Myeon, otherwise known as “Slow City.” This title refers to the pace of development as much as lifestyle. Most of the buildings are of traditional design and layout. Unlike other more “tourist” places, it has grown this way and is occupied by farmers and tradesman. Not higher officials etc. that other demonstration towns are. Buildings tend to be more modest and practical. Yards can be filled with equipment and of course pots.

One gentleman curious about our meanderings through the village took the time to enquire about our presence. Learning that we are tourists with Korean children he became quite animated, inviting us into his property to sample some 120 year old soy sauce. This is a special pot of soy sauceethe family keeps only for new years celebrations where a celebratory soup is made to welcome a new year. This particular pot was still being drawn from 120 years after manufacture. It was fruity intense and a little salty. If it was a wine, would fetch the highest prices at auction. He also showed other products such as bean paste and described a little of the farming life.

It is these forms of chance encounters that make travel so rewarding.